Operation Finis
by SweetHawthorn
Summary: What if Class 0 was a group from the Milites Army instead of Rubrum? What if Final Fantasy Type-0 was a mecha genre rather than a magic one? Here, each member of the legendary Class 0 operates a specialised, unique mecha armour (giant robots) to help the Milites Empire achieve their dream of a united Orience.
1. The First Mission

_In this time of absolute darkness, we must unite to bring forth the light of hope._

_The time has come!_

_Yes, this is the dawn of a new age!_

And with that, the Milites Empire, led by their Imperial Marshal Cid Aulstyne, launched a surprise attack on their neighbouring nation, the Dominion of Rubrum.

Ten thousands of soldiers marched bravely, accompanied by thousands of military airships and magitek armours, towards what seemed like a certain victory.

…

'Come on!' a young brunette exclaimed as she ran ahead of her companions along a dimly lit corridor. 'Everybody's already setting out!'

'Wait up, Cater!' her comrade, a brunette boy with shouted after her. 'There's no need to rush!'

'Heh!' a scarred blonde by the name of Nine scoffed, 'you gotta understand her excitement man! This is our first real mission after all.'

There was a reason they were late; these twelve were special after all. _Operation Finis_ was the name they went by. An elite group of soldiers bred, groomed and trained to handle the nation's masterpiece – mecha armours – which could very well be the key to a united Orience.

Mecha armours had been in development for years by the special technological division of the Milites army. And due to their immense capabilities, the government strictly regulated their operation. Only a select few were given personal mecha armours – the twelve youths of Operation Finis.

Their existence had been one of Milites's most heavily guarded secrets. There would be no better way of announcing to the world their capabilities than by taking over Rubrum.

The twelve entered the mecha barrage, and the sight of the mecha armours - standing gallantly at roughly two and a half times the height of a regular man – never ceased to take their breaths away. Maybe it was the significance of this battle taking its toll, but even though they had operated the mecha armours regularly, the machines' beauty still rendered them awestruck.

They each mounted their own special mecha armours. And when everyone was safely inside his or her respective control pods, all of them turned towards their leader for the decisive command.

The blonde youth inside magnificent white mecha armour clutched his control gears with determination. This was it. 'Everyone,' Ace announced, 'let's go!'

…

The scenery was that of a bloodbath.

Blood of Rubrum soldiers and Milites soldiers alike covered the whole ground. Buildings lie in ruins with smoke fuming from various spots.

Such was the scenery when they reached Arkham – the town right ahead of where the Suzaku Peristylium was – the centre of the Rubrum government.

'Ugh!' Sice, a silver haired young woman in a black and red mecha armour gasped at the sight. 'There's no one here! Could we be too late?'

'No way!' replied Queen, her comrade, 'we _were supposed_ to come after the initial attack.'

'That doesn't make sense!' Nine exclaimed, 'what's the use of arriving late? We are supposed to be the trump cards here!'

'Apparently the special technological department would prefer _not _having to repair these mecha armours if the ordinary soldiers could take care of everything…' another comrade of theirs, Trey explained with a hint of disapproval in his voice. 'These are special after all you know? Not that they're impossible to repair, but they're rather complex and you cannot rely on ordinary mechanics to do that.'

His comrades groaned at his explanation.

'Anyway,' Ace commanded, 'let's split up. King, Seven, Jack, Deuce, go and check out the West side of town. Trey, Cinque, Eight, Cater, check out the East. Assist any Milites soldier and kill any enemy. The rest, follow me to the Peristylium.'

'Roger that!'

'Got it!'

'Alrighty~'

With that, the two groups soon disappeared to their respective areas. Ace motioned for the rest to follow him down the road ahead, which led to the Peristylium.

They trailed the road in silence, carefully observing for any signs of ambush. The town, however, was deserted except for dead bodies.

As they reached the gates to the Peristylium, however, a surprise awaited them…

_Crash_

Ace had deftly dodged whatever it was that exploded right where he had stood a split second earlier. As the smoke cleared up, a man came into view.

_No. It was no ordinary man._ Ace gritted his teeth. That was a l'Cie – extremely powerful beings created to serve their respective Crystal's will.

The l'Cie stood expressionless. His abnormal red eyes stared menacingly at the group. 'Leave this place!' he bellowed. 'I have no wish to fight at this moment.'

'As if!' Nine shouted as he recklessly charged forward.

'NINE!'

The l'Cie took up his gigantic axe, covered in flames, and charged forward, clashing mid-air with Nine's dark red mecha armour.

But no matter how special their mecha armour were, they were no match for an infuriated l'Cie. Nine was quickly thrown back by the impact with a deep gash across the frontal of his mecha armour.

'Damn it!' Nine cursed as the silver haired l'Cie quickly started charging towards him for a second time. This time, a giant sword from Queen's mecha armour and a giant scythe from Sice's blocked his charge. The impact staggered the two but otherwise created no visible damage.

Just then, a transmission entered Ace's radio.

'Hey can you hear me!?'

It was Qator Bashtar, the Brigadier General of the Milites Army.

'Yeah!' Ace replied as steered his mecha armour out of the way of another explosion. 'What's going on here!?'

'A l'Cie.' Qator explained, 'he put all our plans in jeopardy, wiped out most of the squad entering the Peristylium, and apparently massacred quite a number of his own civilians in the process. We had no choice but to retreat. You should abandon the mission and refrain from getting near the Peristylium too.'

'And you're telling me this, _now_!?' Ace seethed as he blocked another attack aimed at Nine.

'It was pretty chaotic and we had to ensure the safe retreat of the troops.' Qator replied flatly before being struck by a thunder of realisation. 'Wait! You don't say…'

'What I'm saying, Qator Bashtar…' Ace said loudly, 'is that we are in the middle of a battle against that very l'Cie!'

'Retreat at once!' Qator commanded, 'I'll send backup to you right away!'

'As if it would be that easy…' Ace muttered as Qator hung up the call.

_Boom_

Nine had taken the hit of another explosion.

'Ace…zzz…can you…zzz…hear me?' Nine called out through his faulty radio. 'My mecha armour…zzz…seemed…zzz…to be in a real bad condition…zzz…man!'

'Sice! Queen!' Ace commanded, 'Get Nine out of here!'

'But…'

'GO!' Ace shouted as he blocked another charge from the l'Cie aimed at finishing Nine off. 'Meet up with the others and the rest of the army! I'll be right there!

Sice and Queen reluctantly grabbed Nine's damaged mecha armour and left the scene.

Ace swung the claw-like arms of this mecha armour at the l'Cie, buying time for his comrades to escape. With his attention turned towards his escaping preys, the sharp claws successfully wounded the l'Cie's shoulder. He turned slowly at the provocation, seemingly oblivious to the wound it has caused.

'Die! You insolent White Tiger!' he exclaimed angrily, swinging his axe towards Ace. This time, the axe found its target; it latched itself onto the mecha armour's left arm, which it had instinctively used to protect the main body. Sparks flew as the axe cut deeper and deeper onto the metal arm.

With a final push, the axe had cut off part of the mecha armour's arm. Had Ace not utilised the turbo to escape at the last second, the blade would have surely found its way onto the main body – and with that – his life.

_Urgh! I can't keep this up much longer!_ Ace thought as he gripped the control gears with his sweaty palms. Just then, a bright flash of green light appeared on the gates ahead of them.

A man with a tiger-shaped mask and white uniform appeared where the light originated. Ace breathed a sigh of relief. He recognised that man – Milites's very own l'Cie, Nimbus.

As the two l'Cie's clash, Ace seized the chance to escape, leaving the two god-like beings to their cataclysmic battle.

**Okay I was a little too heavily influenced by Code Geass here. But still I thought it would be interesting to see the roles Class 0 play in Milites.**

**And FYI the characters are slightly older here than in the original story. About 20 - 21 years old.**


	2. The Prince and the Regent

Back in the Milites Capital, Ingram, the twelve members of Operation Finis – or Class 0, as they were more commonly known to members of the military – sat in profound silence in a spacious lounge, awaiting further orders. A military doctor went around and tended to their injuries one by one. Fortunately, no one suffered major wounds – not even Nine who managed to escape with a few cuts and a huge bruise on his right cheekbone.

'What the hell was that Qator thinking!?' Nine exclaimed suddenly, causing the elderly doctor to jump and apply unnecessary pressure on Trey's sprained wrist.

Trey groaned at the sudden infliction of pain, to which the doctor quickly and profusely apologised. 'We don't know the situation and we don't know their circumstances, Nine,' Trey said, wincing as the doctor bandaged his injured hand, 'best wait for further directions.'

'Directions my a**!' Nine scoffed, 'their directions almost killed us!'

'Heh, we should have known better that a l'Cie would try to defend the Suzaku crystal,' Eight remarked.

'Still,' Queen chimed in, 'it's remarkable that Nimbus actually came to our aid. That's highly unusual.'

'Yeah, with l'Cie they are usually dark and brooding.' Jack said cheerfully. '"I'm sitting here and I'm not gonna help because the crystal says so."' He joked in a deep voice.

'Heh,' Trey said smiling at Jack's imitation of a l'Cie, 'I wonder what Qator told Nimbus to convince him to come?'

'I did not tell him to come,' came a voice from the door. Brigadier General Qator Bashtar stood at the doorway. 'He came to our base camp where we consolidated the troops after retreating. He overheard my conversation on the transmission radio, asked me a few things and off he went.'

'Hmmm…' Jack said, 'that sounds more like normal l'Cie behaviour to me. Unpredictable if you ask me.'

'Anyway,' Qator continued, turning to Ace who was sitting quietly by the window, 'the Imperial Marshal requests an audience with you.'

Without a word, Ace got up from the windowsill and left the room.

'The rest of you,' Qator said, smirking, 'I have to say the mecha armours look pretty darn impressive. You can take a rest while the military discuss our next move. I'll update you guys tomorrow'

…

'How's the situation?' Ace asked as he entered the Imperial Marshal's office.

'Not too bad,' Cid Aulstyne said, clasping his hands in front of his chin. 'We managed to conquer about a third of Suzaku's towns, though I would have hoped to take over the Peristylium as well.'

'The fact that we did not manage to conquer the Peristylium don't seem to be a good thing, isn't it?' Ace remarked, 'we used up our element of surprise and now, not only Rubrum, but the Lorican Alliance and the Kingdom of Concordia will put their guards up against us.'

Cid remained quiet for a moment before he said, 'you don't have to concern yourself with this. Go take a rest.'

'But this is my concern too!' Ace retorted.

'You insisted on joining the fray as part of Operation Finis and as a result put yourself in danger!' Cid retaliated, 'I think that shows how unready you are… _Your Highness_.'

'I am part of Operation Finis and I will remain that way!' Ace said stubbornly, 'besides, my coronation is a year from now. I deserve to understand what's going on with the army.'

Cid sat in silence at his words. After a moment of quietude, he finally said, 'we'll discuss this tomorrow. You need to take a rest.'

Ace stared angrily at the Imperial Marshal before storming off the room. No one has the right to prevent the crown prince from joining the fight for his nation, not even the regent…

…

Back in his private chamber, Ace stared out of the window at the barren, snowy landscape surrounding Milites. A pang of sadness struck his heart.

_If only we don't have to go to war. If only there was another solution…_

The Milites Empire and the Lorican Alliance, unlike the Dominion of Rubrum and the Kingdom of Concordia, had the unfortunate luck of having barren lands. Milites was snowy all year round whereas Lorica was an arid desert. For ages, people always had major troubles obtaining food. They had to resort to trades with either Rubrum or Concordia. However, in recent years, the trade industry had not been going smoothly.

Throughout history, territorial disputes were not uncommon among the four nations of the Orience. And for the past few years, the escalating intensity of these disputes had disrupted much of the trade. Bad seeds were sowed between the nations such that the profits of trade were clouded by increased hatred among the populations. Furthermore, the increased territorial disputes had impeded part of Rubrum and Concordia's agriculture, leading them to scrimp for the sake of their own people.

Ace recalled how his father, the previous emperor, had tried to address the sources of conflict between the nations to no avail. There was always something that will upset the momentary times of peace; a l'Cie attack, followed by a counterattack; civilian uprisings against the neighbouring country, and so on.

It was not until the emperor abruptly went missing and Cid took over as regent that the whole nation decided – the only way to prevent anymore war, famine and suffering was to take over the whole of Orience.

The young prince sighed as he sat on his bed. The war was far from over. This was only the beginning.

And with all these thoughts swirling in his mind, Ace fell into an uneasy sleep…


	3. Meet Lean

A meeting was called the day after the operation where the members of Operation Finis were updated on the outcome of the operation.

Apparently, Zhuyu, the Suzaku l'Cie had led Nimbus away from Arkham to continue their catastrophic battle. As a l'Cie, he would of course strive to prevent his Crystal from coming into any harm, including becoming collateral damage to a devastating battle between l'Cies. The resulting clash had left a gigantic crater in an uninhabited area southeast of Arkham.

And as Cid had told Ace: during the surprise attack, the Milites Army had managed to capture about a third of Rubrum's towns, including Togoreth Fort, an important base for Rubrum's military.

This was, however, a double-edged sword for them. By virtue of the attack, Concordia and Lorica became more wary towards Milites. And it would not be too far-fetched to assume that Rubrum, with its decreased might, would approach either one of them to form an alliance.

'So it doesn't sound good for us then?' Jack blurted out.

'Not thoroughly bleak,' Qator assured him, 'Cid's planned negotiations with Lorica. If they can see the benefits of our vision, then things would be a lot easier.'

'And if not?' Cinque asked innocently as she twirled her braids.

'If not, we may have to resort to the worst possible scenario,' Qator said.

'You don't mean…' Queen gasped.

'Yeah,' Qator replied, matter-of-factly, 'the Ultima bomb.'

'But that's horrible!' Deuce exclaimed.

'Then don't you think that the war is horrible, Deuce?' Qator asked, turning to her. 'To continue fighting, both sides could lose any amount of brave soldiers. Worse still if they decided to form an alliance with other nations. Our people's lives are at stake. The impact could be worse than the Ultima bomb being dropped once.'

Deuce lowered her head sadly. Clearly, the idea of war devastated the gentle girl much more than any of her comrades.

'Anyway,' Qator continued, his tone softening a little, 'you guys should check up on the status of your mecha armours. For now, there are no major battles for you to take part in. The army can handle the minor ones.'

…

'You really should be more careful using these things you know,' Lean Hampelmann, the head of the special technological department, warned. The youth was one of Cid's most trusted subordinates even though his happy-go-lucky nature would not have led people to believe that he was a genius scientist.

'That's not my fault y'know!' Nine retorted.

'If you use it then you are responsible for it,' Lean replied nonchalantly as he waved an engineer over before showing that engineer some data on his computer screen.

'So how long will the reparations take?' Trey asked.

'Not long, a few days max' Lean replied cheerfully, 'this is a special department of geniuses you know?'

Nine snorted at his reply before Lean remarked, 'continue that attitude and I might install fart bombs on your mecha armour.'


	4. Deuce

'_You've done it!'_

'_You're our family's pride and honour!'_

_There were cheers everywhere. The candidates have been named for Operation Finis – the special unit who would be groomed to become Milites's trump card. Word was the Emperor himself had picked the 11 candidates who would become the Crown Prince's lifelong comrade. _

_Being chosen from among all the children of nobles and army generals was the greatest honour a child of seven or eight years old could receive. The candidates of Operation Finis would be under the direct command of the Emperor and the Imperial Marshal, and their families would receive honorary titles for their contribution to the Empire. _

_However, the Operation was not all sugar and rainbows. All 12 candidates, including the young prince, had to throw away their given names and answer to only the name they were given. _

_Deuce…_

_That was the name I was christened with. And that had been my name since that day thirteen years ago. What my real name was… I had forgotten… along with the death of my father by the hands of war ten years ago. _

_Yet I can remember the day I stepped into the room with all the other children for the first time – clear as day. A woman, tall and slender with sharp eyes and luscious black hair, had introduced herself to us as Doctor Arecia. She said she would be in charge of us and we were told to call her Mother. _

_I looked around at my new comrades and a platinum blonde haired kid immediately caught my eye. I knew who that was, the prince. He turned around and looked at me with wary blue eyes. Blushing, I quickly averted my gaze. _

_That was rude of me. He's the prince after all._

_So I approached him afterwards with the intention of apologising for my rudeness._

'_There's no need for formalities,' he said calmly, 'I'm here for the same purpose as every one of you. Father told me that we are all comrades, so shouldn't we treat everyone equally?'_

_Such wisdom for a seven year old…_

_Soon, we all became friends and all manner of barriers of hierarchy were dismissed. No titles, no birth rights, nothing. Sure, some of us, like Ace and Sice, took a little longer to get out of their shells. But we all arrived at the same spot._

_Operation Finis – no, Class 0 – the highest order of knights of the Milites Empire. We had sworn our loyalty, not to the Emperor or the Imperial Marshal, but to the Crown Prince - such was the will of the Emperor. No one thought of questioning his decision back then. But now that I am older and with the Emperor missing and all… I began to wonder… _

_If what the Emperor wanted, was to ensure that his son would always have people loyal to him by his side?_

_If so… why?_


	5. Gilgamesh and the Lorican Alliance

**Chap 5**

'So this is Lorica! It is beauuutifulllll!' gushed Cinque as Class 0, along with Cid, Qator and several other key figures of the Milites army and government disembarked the airship.

Indeed, although much of the Lorican landscape was deserts, the capital was an exquisite crater-like terrain. The buildings and the earth seemed to have integrated as one, forming beautiful natural structures for the citizens' homes. Streams also flowed from various corners of the city and created miniature waterfalls here and there.

Lorican citizens were generally about one and a half times bigger than ordinary men from Milites or Rubrum, making their large armoured figures and concealed faces seem all the more intimidating.

'I wonder how they recognise one another under all those armour and helmet.' Jack whispered to King as a huge Lorican figure passed by them. 'I can't even tell who is male and who is female!'

'You can if you look carefully!' Queen said in a rather reprimanding tone. It would be unthinkable how the Loricans would react if they heard Jack's comment. King merely chuckled at Queen's worried response for which he earned one of Queen's deadly glares.

The group was taken to the Genbu Peristylium that was located at the very centre of the crater. There, the Lorican King Gilgamesh and his trusted advisor, Enkidu, warmly welcomed them.

'Welcome! Welcome to Lorica!' Gilgamesh boomed as they entered the entrance hall. 'Nice to meet you Cid! And this must be your lot. Young and feisty, eh?' he remarked when he saw Class 0.

Cid smiled politely in response, 'Pleased to be able to meet you too, Your Majesty.'

'Nahhh!' Gilgamesh said, slamming his huge hand on Cid's shoulder, 'no need for the formalities! Call me Gilgamesh!' A burst of pink sprouted on Cid's cheeks as he sustained the blow from Gilgamesh. Enkidu, noticing this, cleared his throat before saying, 'Your Majesty, shouldn't we head over to the meeting hall?'

'Ah yes, we should,' Gilgamesh agreed, 'Come! This way!' He cheerfully led the bewildered Milites group with great, bold strides over to the meeting hall, which was located next to the entrance hall.

'I shan't waste your time, Your Majesty,' Cid began the moment everyone has seated down. 'We'd like to propose an alliance.'

'You're too hasty, Cid,' Gilgamesh chuckled, 'And may I ask what the ultimate goal of this alliance is?'

'World domination,' Cid replied succinctly, 'Simple as that.'

Gilgamesh flinched a little at the reply, followed by gasps from various Lorican government officials present. 'And by world domination you would mean taking over Rubrum and Concordia?' Gilgamesh asked. This time, his cheerful tone had lowered to a more apprehensive one.

'Yes,' Cid replied.

'Look Cid,' Gilgamesh said, 'I don't meant to sound negative, but your army has recently declared an all out war on Rubrum. And now you are proposing an alliance. It kinda sounds desperate.'

Cid barely winced at the bold comment, 'Your Majesty, I am only proposing this because both our countries are facing the same problem. We have a shortage of food supplies and so do you. Although I must say, being blessed by the Genbu Crystal such that you are strong enough to survive with less food meant that your people aren't suffering as much as ours. Nevertheless, the problem is an ongoing one and will continue to plague both our nations. And with constant disputes between the various nations, I propose that the only solution is for us to take over the more fertile lands of Rubrum and Concordia.'

The whole room fell silent as Cid finished his explanation. Shortly after, murmurs began circulating among the Lorican officials.

'Well,' Gilgamesh finally spoke up, 'I cannot deny that. But I have to clarify something, Cid. You said that your aim is world domination. So, if we refuse your request for an alliance here, does that mean that you will declare war on us?'

'I will,' Cid replied plainly.

Gilgamesh frowned at his reply. 'And if we decide to join Rubrum and Concordia instead?'

'I'll have you annihilated,' again Cid replied flatly, to which the murmurs grew louder. 'Frankly though, I'd rather not have you as an enemy, considering we are on the same boat here.'

Gilgamesh did not reply and instead stared out the window by the side of the room.

Silence ensued until an unexpected voice broke it.

'Your Majesty,' Ace spoke up, 'as ruler of the nation, you would of course consider the future of your citizens your first priority, am I right?'

Gilgamesh turned to him, apparently bewildered by the intrusion of a youth in this political conversation. Nevertheless, he replied, 'yes, that's right.'

'Should you choose to ally yourself with Rubrum and Concordia,' Ace said, 'is there any guarantee that they will provide you with all the food supply you need for your people? Can you, then, guarantee the future of your people?'

Stunned, Gilgamesh and all the Lorican officials stared at Ace, but the blonde youth stood his ground, his blue eyes exuding determination.

'Your Majesty,' Ace continued, 'our nations face the same problems, and therefore aim towards the same goal. All of us here have the same vision for our respective nations and it would be foolish to take up arms against one another. Regardless of peace treaties and trade pacts, Rubrum and Concordia would never be able to provide us with all the food supplies we need. Therefore, Your Majesty, please consider this: had we managed to get enough supplies through trade with Rubrum and Concordia, would we have declared war against them and risk thousands of our citizens' lives?'

Silence filled the room as Ace concluded his little speech.

'And you are?' Gilgamesh finally spoke up, his eyes scanning every inch of the youth who had managed to pique his utmost interest.

'Ace,' Ace replied, 'Crown Prince of the Milites Empire.'

Murmurs began circulating the room again. Enkidu whispered a few things in Gilgamesh's ears with Gilgamesh himself seemingly deep in thought.

'Ace…' Gilgamesh said thoughtfully, 'Very well. I accept this proposal for an alliance.'

This time, excited whispers flooded the Milites's side of the table with Cid finally breaking into a satisfied smile.

'We'll take a break here,' Gilgamesh continued, this time a little more cheerfully, 'and afterwards, our generals can discuss the next military steps to be taken. Meeting is adjourned.'


	6. Operation McTighe

**Chap 6**

With the alliance secure, the citizens' and army's moral were boosted as they readied their next battle against Rubrum. The aim was to take down Rubrum as fast as possible before Concordia decided to step into the fray.

'Push the Rubrum army back as far as possible!' Qator commanded, as the members of Class 0 boarded their respective mecha armours, 'We need to make sure we conquer at least the towns of McTighe and Aqvi!'

'Hey Ace!' Eight called out from the cockpit of his mecha armour and threw a neatly folded piece of paper to Ace. 'That's the list of items to get for Seven's birthday party. See what you can get, then pass the list on to Sice.'

Ace nodded, grinning, and stuffed the paper into his pocket. The class has been planning this party for ages for the eldest member of their group, although admittedly, Eight could have chosen a better time to pass him the list - he could feel Queen's deadly disapproving glare burning onto his and Eight's napes.

…

The class was split into two groups: one to attack McTighe and another to attach Aqvi. Ace, along with Deuce, Trey, Cater, Cinque and Sice proceeded to McTighe while the rest attempt to tackle Aqvi.

The mother ship dropped the group off, mecha armour and all, right in the middle of the town square, much to the astonishment of the Rubrum soldiers. Their surprise attack gave them an edge and without much difficulty, they managed to take down all the soldiers in the town square.

'Let's split up and comb the entire town,' Ace commanded.

'Aye aye sir!' Cinque cheerfully replied as she made a mad dash for one of the alleyways, her gigantic mace dragging behind, leaving a trail of rubbles out of the cobbled ground.

Sighing exasperatedly, Sice followed suit. And one by one they disappeared into the winding pathways of McTighe.

Ace himself tackled the remaining pathway, eliminating countless Rubrum soldiers and candidates along the way. The candidates proved to be the tougher of the bunch, often more skilled at magic than their hooded counterparts.

Nevertheless, he took them all out, sustaining little damage. It was not long before he found himself back in the town square where they started.

Ace was about to turn around and chase after Cinque when he saw a Rubrum candidate on the far end of the town square. The candidate seemed to be around his age with black hair and navy blue mantle. He was riding a chocobo.

The candidate, seemingly noticing Ace's presence at the same time as Ace did, charged forward on the chocobo, his hands glowing as he readied some sort of magic. Ace reflexively fired a few missiles at the candidate, one of which successfully knocked him off the chocobo.

The black-haired youth groaned in pain as he picked himself off the ground. His chocobo cried out in pain as it struggled in vain to get up. Angered, the candidate summoned his weapons – a pair of bolt-shaped rapiers – and once again charged forward at Ace.

Mecha armours may be large, but these special machines were not necessarily slow. Ace swiftly maneuvered the machine away from the incoming threat and fired a laser cannon at the candidate who barely managed to avoid it. He fired thunder magic in response, which Ace blocked with a force field shield.

The exchange went on, but after a few moments, it was apparent that the damages suffered by the youth was taking a greater toll on him than the damages he inflicted on Ace's mecha armour. One last laser cannon had blasted him off towards the brick walls where he fell and struggled to get up again.

Ace's finger hovered above the command button for another laser cannon. He could finish him off, just like all the other Rubrum soldiers. But just then, Qator's booming voice filled the entire town.

'Attention all units! McTighe has fallen into the hands of the Milites and Lorican Alliance! Remaining members of the Rubrum army should surrender should they not wish for a painful death. To all members of the Milites and Lorican army, capture all survivors and kill all who rebels!'

Upon hearing the announcement, Ace retracted his hands away from the command button. There is no point in killing the injured candidate now. Instead, Ace opened the door to the cockpit and disembarked his mecha armour.

…

The wounded candidate coughed wildly as the fumes from the burning buildings entered his lungs. He heard the announcement and cursed furiously in his heart. Rubrum had lost yet another battle.

Fighting against the piercing pain in his abdomen, he sat up and saw the pilot of the mecha armour disembarking. _Is he going to kill me with his own hands?_ His thoughts ran wild. He hated the thought of losing; and worse still, the thought of losing his life while accomplishing nothing.

To his astonishment, the young pilot of the mecha armour did not turn at his direction. Instead he approached the squealing chocobo – his chocobo, Chichiri.

Chichiri initially struggled frantically, refusing to let anyone near it. The blonde pilot however persisted. 'Easy boy, easy… I won't harm you.' The candidate stared incredulously as the great big bird calmed down and allowed the youth to stroke its magnificent head.

He was not expecting an enemy to show such gentleness to his pet, especially not one who had just blasted him off. Then again, this enemy had just spared his life. He could have killed him, even after the announcement.

At that moment, two hulking Lorican soldiers entered the scene. 'Ah, if it isn't Your Highness,' the first said, 'are you all right, Your Highness? Not injured I hope.' The candidate balked at those words. His enemy was the Prince of Milites!?

'Yes, I'm fine,' Ace replied succinctly as he examined the chocobo's injured leg.

'Well, well, well…' the second chimed in, apparently noticing the injured candidate. 'We have one rat that you missed out on, Your Highness. Let me have the honour of clearing this one out for you.' The massive figure walked menacingly towards the black-haired youth, his eyes twinkled with wild, savage delight as he dragged his gigantic sword behind.

'Hold it!' Ace commanded, turning towards the candidate and the second Lorican soldier. 'I kept him alive for a reason.'

'Hehhh?' the Lorican soldier stared at the prince incredulously, evidently dissatisfied. 'Whatever for?'

Ace ignored him and led the limping chocobo towards the candidate. 'What's your name?' he asked.

'Machina,' the candidate replied, bewildered, 'Machina Kunagiri.'

'Machina,' Ace said, 'I want you to pass a message to your leader for me. Take this letter. Your chocobo should be fine. He was not badly injured. He should still be able to take you home.' He passed a folded piece of paper and the reins of the chocobo to Machina, which he received perplexedly.

'You two!' Ace said, turning to the two Lorican soldiers. 'Take him to the gate and ensure he goes out safely.' Confused and dissatisfied, the two soldiers grumbled as they led Machina, who has mounted Chichiri, towards the town gate.

…

When had travelled far enough from the gates of McTighe, Machina took out the folder piece of paper that he had received from Ace. Baffled at the unexpected actions of the prince and astonished by his luck, Machina slowly unfolded the piece of paper. His eyes widened in shock at what was written on that piece of paper. It read:

_Seven's birthday party  
><em>_Things to buy  
><em>_- Balloons – Cinque  
><em>_- Streamers – Eight  
><em>_- Yeti meat  
><em>_- Cactuar juice  
><em>_- Any other type of food – Nine and Jack  
><em>_- Tablecloth  
><em>_- Plates, cutleries, cups  
><em>_- Present – any ideas? __Cactuar plushie! __Please Cinque, no…  
><em>_- Sparklers and fireworks  
><em>_- Chocolate fondue  
><em>_- Marshmellows  
><em>_- Apples – Cater's special request  
><em>_- And anything else that contributes to the party._

Machina smiled weakly and silently wondered if the young prince would get into trouble with his friends for losing the list to help a Rubrum candidate.


	7. Eight

**Chap 7**

_Mother taught us a lot of things. From battle strategies, war machineries and so on. Apart from anything that is war or battle related though, we are sorely lacking – or so we were often told._

_Occasionally, someone will reprimand me, 'Don't you know any manners!?' I used to wonder what they are, but I guess I get the basic gist of it now. _

_People like Trey or Queen who read a lot never had problems understanding how to behave among outsiders. And Ace can basically get away with anything since he's the prince. But for the rest of us, our limited contact with the outside world ever since our recruitment into Operation Finis meant that we are mostly uncomfortable if we have to conform to societal standards. _

_We were raised and trained within the confines of the Byakko Peristylium, but not the whole of it – just the West Fortress. It was a beautiful, peaceful place – a huge fortress isolated from the main building refurbished with a complete set of facilities for our use. The interiors were richly decorated in a manner that is symbolic of Milites's grandeur. There was a large, spacious library that was Trey and Queen's favourite spot. There was a gym complete with an indoor pool. There were lounges, dining rooms, recreational rooms with pool tables, and even our own personal rooms._

_For a week after we first arrived, I ran around and around the fortress with Nine and Jack, exploring every nook and cranny. After a month, I started to feel right at home. After half a year, I began growing bored of the place. And after a full year, I have thoroughly accepted it as part of my new life._

…

'_Hey Eight!' Cater called out one day as I was staring out the window, contemplating our lack of freedom. 'What're you thinking about? You look so moody…'_

'_Uh, hey Cater,' I replied absent-mindedly, 'Nothing, just looking out.'_

_Cater sat herself on the couch next to me. 'Why don't you talk to me about it?'_

_I looked at her cheerful face for a moment before sighing, 'Well… Cater… Do you… feel happy here?'_

'_Huh?' Cater looked back at me with a bewildered expression. 'Yeah, of course I am. Are you not?'_

'_No, no, no,' I quickly corrected her, 'that's not it. It's just that… we never get to go outside. We haven't seen our parents in about a year. And all we have that connects us to them are letters.'_

_Cater frowned as she contemplated my words. 'Well…' she slowly said after a moment, 'that's kinda true. But my mom and dad never paid much attention to me in the first place. So having Mother here and all of you actually makes me happier I guess.'_

'_That's mean! Are all nobles like that?' I asked her, appalled at her response. _

'_I don't know, but my parents are,' she replied casually, 'how're your parents like?'_

'_Well, my dad was a Liutenant General, or so I was told,' I said, taking a deep breath, 'but I can't remember him at all. He died when I was three. My mom's sweet and kind. I'm not saying Mother's no good, but I kinda miss my real mom sometimes.'_

'_That's nice,' Cater said softly, taking my hand as she smiled gently at me, 'I'm sure we'll get a chance to meet our parents soon. Until then, you have all of us!'_

_Consoled by her words, I nodded with renewed enthusiasm._

…

_And Cater did not lie… _

_The very next month, Mother took us out. We visited Militesi towns. We toured round the Byakko Peristylium. We met the Emperor himself. And we got to meet our parents, even if only for a short while._

_Seeing the joyous faces of my comrades, I began thinking. Maybe, I wasn't the only one feeling lonely and isolated. Maybe, Mother realised that too. Since then, I never second-guessed the life in the West Fortress anymore. I have wonderful comrades. Life was fun. We get to go out every once in a while. And we have a kind and loving Mother to raise and train us._

_Our parents placed their hopes on us to bring Milites Empire a better future. And I guess we have no choice but to uphold it._


	8. Jack

**Chap 8**

_My mother died when I was four. And ever since losing her, father too became more distant and aloof towards me. I was never an outgoing and lively child in the first place and the incident made me even more introverted. _

_A year later, father got married again. My new mother was impatient and egotistical, the very epitome of evil stepmothers in my childish opinion. She chided me again and again for being a crybaby._

'_Why pull such a long face!?' she would always say. Then she would turn to father and say, 'Look at your son. I knew it! He's dissatisfied of me! And here I am trying my hardest to be a good mother.'_

_And father would look at me with weary eyes and say, 'Son, please try to be more friendly with your mother.'_

_I stared at the mirror long and hard that night. I tried pulling all sorts of smiles but they all looked false in my eyes. Still, I settled for one version that I would use the next day._

_I greeted my stepmother cheerfully the next morning, putting on my widest smile. I must've looked horribly weird because she nearly jumped at the sight of my face. But for the first time ever, she gave no snide comments._

_Smiling soon became part of my everyday life. I worked on cracking jokes on top of it and everyone seemed to love this new me much better. My housekeeper who had always been nice even commented, 'Young master Jack, you look so much better smiling.'_

'_Even if it's not real?' I asked her._

_She smiled back at me and said, 'If you keep smiling, I'm sure it will turn real someday.'_

_I gave her my widest grin._

…

_When I was chosen to take part in Operation Finis, I was not the least bit sad that I had to leave my home behind. I carried on my cheerful façade in the Peristylium with all the other children and they simply accepted that as who Jack was. _

_At least in the beginning…_

_Seven came up to me one day and said, 'Why are you always so cheerful?'_

'_Because I'm always happy,' I replied._

_She stared at me, long and hard, before quietly saying, 'that's not true isn't it? You always try to make people smile and laugh, but you're not happy yourself. And that's because you're always trying to hide everything behind that smile of yours.'_

_I was stunned. I had never thought of it that way before myself. _

'_We're comrades aren't we?' she continued, 'All of us. You can be yourself around us. It's all right to cry like Cinque or get angry like Nine. Youll feel better that way.'_

_I pondered over her words for a long time. And slowly, I began understanding them. Being with the other eleven kids for so long allowed me to get used to their company. And over time, there was little that I could or would hide from them. _

_After all, everyone accepted one another just the way we are. Ace's stubbornness, Sice's rudeness, Cinque's weirdness, Trey's talkativeness, Queen's perfectionism, Nine's brazenness…_

_As for Seven, I came to realise her exceptional skills when it comes to reading other people. She was always the first to notice if someone is down or sad or angry or even when they're lying; except maybe Cinque and her incredible sixth sense on certain occasions. _

_Looking back, even if it had started out as a lie, my smile has brought me this much closer to true happiness. I won't hide my true self anymore, but neither will I stop smiling. If I continue making others happy, I guess I can be happy as well. _

_Maybe my housekeeper was right after all. Maybe even a false smile can turn real someday._


	9. The Mahamayuri Incident

**Chap 9**

_What!? A ceasefire!? Now of all times!?_

Nobody could believe their own ears. The Kingdom of Concordia had abruptly called for a ceasefire midway through the battle for the Rubrum territory of Judecca.

Souryuu, a gigantic dragon that was a l'Cie of the Kingdom of Concordia had appeared before them, along with a massive herd of dragons. And one of the Astral Guards, the highest order of knights of the Concordian army, had announced the request for a ceasefire.

'This isn't even their battle!' Nine protested.

'Maybe they felt threatened,' Cater said through gritted teeth, 'Judecca's pretty close to their territory after all.'

As dissatisfied as they all were, they had no choice but to oblige. The ancient Fabula Conventions had dictated that a request for a ceasefire must be respected.

…

They were taken to the Kingdom of Concordia's capital of Mahamayuri, an ethereal place located high above the mountains and clouds, making it seem as though the whole nation was situated in the heavens. Dragons roamed freely in the skies and lush greenery shrouded the mountainous terrain where they built their civilisation.

The place was mesmerising – if only the situation was right to appreciate it.

Class 0 was taken to a large room overlooking the clouds. The large windows provided them with a breathtaking view of Mahamayuri.

'Ceasefire!?' Nine protested again, 'At a time like this!?'

'Those damn Concordians,' Sice chimed in, 'they have no right to be butting into our businesses. They were the ones who refused to take sides in the first place. They even refused to help Rubrum!'

'We've got no choice but to wait until Cid arrives here,' King asserted calmly, but with a tone that insinuated his dissatisfaction towards Concordia's decision.

Just then, the doors opened. Some of them stood up reflexively, expecting Qator or other Militesi officers to be at the doors. To their surprise, a petite woman, elegant and poised, along with two of her royal guards, greeted them.

Concordians were by nature shorter and smaller than the people of Rubrum and Milites. However, the woman commanded such grace that made her presence overwhelming. Seated on a hovering throne, her serene eyes swept the room as she and her guards made her way to the centre.

'Tha-that's…' Cater stammered.

'The QUEEN!?' Cinque blurted out. Queen hurriedly gagged the younger girl's mouth.

They quickly bowed to pay their respects to the Queen of Concordia.

'Please dispense with the formalities,' the Queen said in a serene voice. 'I must introduce myself. My name is Andoria Kaya Tranka Fam Forturio. I have heard a great deal about Operation Finis. You are a talented group of knights of the Milites Empire.'

The class stood upright but shifted awkwardly at her words. Unsure of what to say, every one of them turned towards Ace.

As though she had read their movements, Andoria spoke up before Ace could say anything. 'I know who you are, Prince of Milites. You are the main reason for me being here today.'

Startled by her words, Ace took a moment to regain his calm before asking, 'Is there something that you wish to tell me, Your Majesty?'

Andoria nodded. 'Yes. Milites is ultimately your Empire. You must choose your own path. And in doing so beware… Beware of the one whose arrogance tramples on the will of the Crystals. Beware of the one seeking to destroy the balance of the world.'

'You don't mean-' Ace began but was cut off by Andoria.

'The future can still be changed. I have defied the very rule of being a l'Cie by telling you this. I have told you what the Crystal told me.' Andoria said, smiling sadly, 'I ask of you Prince of Milites, when the time comes… save my people.'

And out of a sudden, a single gunshot rang through the tense air and the bullet found its mark on the Queen's head. Andoria collapsed onto the ground – an instantaneous death. Everyone turned towards the source of the gunshot where they saw a lowly Militesi soldier turning the very same gun to his own head. 'For a free Orience…' the soldier proclaimed and another gunshot rang, taking the life of the soldier along with it.

'YOUR MAJESTY!' the Astral Guards exclaimed as they rushed to Andoria's side.

'Wha-What just happened…' Trey stammered, looking back and forth between the dead Queen and the dead soldier.

'You Militesi traitors!' one of the Astral Guards with pink hair shouted at them with teary eyes, 'you broke the ceasefire agreement! You killed our Queen!'

'Hey! We are not in this plan!' Cater shouted back.

'Whatever the case,' the other Astral Guard with blue hair spoke up this time, 'all of you will have to be detained. We need leverage so that the Queen's justice will be served.'

'What!?'

'Guards!' the blue-haired woman called out, 'capture all of them!'

Two-dozen Concordian guards entered the room, fully prepared with their great lances and armour. The girls shook in horror.

'I'm sorry,' Ace spoke up, 'but we have no intention of being captured unfairly today.' With that, he drew up the sword at his waist.

'Ace!?' the others looked at him, puzzled. But one by one, each of them did the same.

'You intend to rebel!? You intend to shed more blood?'

'I don't intend for any of our bloods to spill here. Even if it means declaring war against Concordia!' Ace declared.

He led the fray as the class fought their way out, past the Concordian guards and out to the corridors. Without turning back, they traversed the winding hallways of the Mahamayuri Castle.

'Damn!' Nine cursed as they met another dead end, 'We don't know the way out.'

'We'll find one,' Ace said, gritting his teeth as he led the way to another corridor.

They went down a winding, dark and seemingly isolated corridor. At the end of that corridor was a half-closed door. Voices floated from inside the room behind the half-closed door. Quietly, they approached the door and Ace peeked through the gap.

His eyes widened in shock at the sight awaiting him behind those doors.

Cid stood there, right beside the glowing Souryuu Crystal. But what made the scene all the queerer was the presence of the Concordian King along with him.

'As I promised,' the Concordian King said, 'the Crystal is yours if you could help me excavate the other Crystal.'

'Heh, your earlier agreement was that I put you in a position of power.' Cid scoffed at the King's words, 'I have removed your Queen. You should be happy.'

'What good is a King without a Crystal?' the King said furiously.

'That would be your personal problem now, would it?' Cid sneered.

'What!? What are you doing!?' the King frantically asked as Cid planted an unknown device onto the Souryuu Crystal. Instantaneously, the Crystal lost its ethereal glow.

'You either be happy that you're the ruler now,' Cid said dangerously, drawing his gun at the petite King, 'Or you can follow your Queen to death.'

The King froze on the spot. Ace, sensing that Cid would leave the place soon, commanded the others to run and hide. His instincts told him that Cid would not be pleased to know that they had been eavesdropping.

…

It took them another half an hour before they can find the courtyard where they parked their mecha armours. But what awaited them outside the Mahamayuri Castle was pure chaos.

The unknown device that Cid placed on the Souryuu Crystal earlier had apparently blocked out the Crystal and with it, the Concordians' source of power. The dragons, now without the control of the Crystal, flew into mindless rages as they attacked Concordians, Loricans, Militesi and Rubrumese alike.

Seizing advantage of the chaos, they boarded their mecha armours where Ace tried to contact Qator.

'Ace!' Qator's voice rang through the radio, 'Take out as many dragons as you can and get out of Mahamayuri! Get back to Ingram if you can, otherwise wait for further contact.'

Ace glanced at the screen in the cockpit of his mecha armour. Surely there would not be enough power for any of them to make it back all the way to Ingram? They had previously fought in a battle against Rubrum and now they had to face hordes of out-of-control dragons. He relayed the message to his comrades who voiced the same opinions. Left with little choice, they took down countless dragons as they made their way out.

After travelling for about half and hour, the group decided to camp out at a ravine where they can safely hide their gigantic mecha armours. The skies were still freckled with numerous dragons, but none paid heed to the hidden group.

'I can't believe this…' Deuce finally spoke up, breaking the tense silence. 'Did Cid really conspire with the Concordian King? And he actually immobilised the Souryuu Crystal!'

'He must have planned something…' Ace said heavily, 'Otherwise he shouldn't have reached Mahamayuri that quickly. We came to Mahamayuri right off our battle in Judecca. There's no way he could've reached at the same time as us had he been in Ingram.'

The group gasped at Ace's words. The very thought of the Imperial Marshal conspiring, then betraying, the Concordian King sent shivers down their spines.

'Does that mean that the ceasefire was part of his plan then?' Seven asked.

'Quite possibly,' Ace replied.

'Tch,' Sice clicked her tongue impatiently, 'whatever he intends to do, he could've at least told us!'

'We weren't even supposed to know that he was there, remember?' Trey reminded them. 'I don't like the sound of this. If Lorica found out about Cid's conspiracy, they might even turn their backs against us. No one will trust us anymore.'

They continued to debate about what Cid's ultimate aim might be, or even whether it was even a conspiracy in the first place. But the lack of information proved any arguments futile. Severely exhausted, they lay on the soft leaf-covered ground and watched the now star-studded sky. Dragons continued to roar endlessly and occasionally block the moonlight with their mighty wings. And one by one, they succumbed to their fatigue and fell into a deep sleep…


	10. A Morning in the Wild

**Chap 10**

Sice woke up very early the next morning. The sun had not risen and her friends were still asleep, bundled inside their cloaks – all except one.

She caught sight of him, sitting at the far end of the ravine where the land cut off and gave way to the clouds once more. Clutching her cloak to prevent the chilly mountain wind from entering, Sice walked over to where Ace sat.

'How long have you been awake?' she asked him. Startled, Ace quickly turned to face his visitor. He immediately relaxed when he saw his friend.

'Quite a few hours,' he replied.

Sice sat herself down next to him. 'Are you thinking about Cid?' she asked again.

'Yeah,' Ace admitted, 'and what Queen Andoria said. She seemed to be know Cid's true motive.'

'I always thought his motive was world domination,' Sice remarked.

'I thought so too,' Ace said, 'But now… I'm not quite sure.'

'Then what do you think his motive is now?' Sice said.

'Trampling over the will of the Crystals… Destroy the balance of the world…' Ace muttered, recounting Andoria's words. 'I hate to think about it but combining that and the Concordian King's words, I think that he might be trying to take over all the Crystals.'

Sice's eyes widened in surprise as she heard his theory, but she quickly regained composure as she said, 'that's not too different from world domination isn't it? You gain control of all the Crystals, you control the world.'

'I'm not sure,' Ace said, 'I just get the feeling that there's more than meets the eye.'

'Hehhh,' Sice said, 'Then are you planning to confront him? He's using the name of the Milites Empire, _your empire_, for his own ambition after all.'

Ace remained silent for a long while before he answered, 'I have to talk to him. That's for sure.'

Sice smirked, 'Good thing the Queen was a l'Cie. Her words won't be forgotten after her death.'

'Yeah, she might have taken that into account,' Ace agreed.

'Anyway,' Sice continued, 'whatever you're planning to do - a coup d'état or whatever - we'll continue supporting you. Just as we've sworn to do.'

Ace stared at her in response to her unexpected display of loyalty. 'I think that was the first time you ever said something sweet to me,' he teased her, smiling.

Sice turned pink at the remark. 'Bahh! Don't make me regret saying such things!'

They sat in silence as they admired the sun rising majestically over the clouds. Dragons still roamed the skies, but what the situation was with the Concordians, neither of them knew. One by one, their friends woke up and joined them. The view above the clouds made them feel as though they were flying, making the war seem so distant.

Trey contacted Qator over the radio and told him of their low-energy mecha armours and their location. Qator promised that a mother ship would come as soon as possible to pick them up.

'I'm hunggrryy~' Cinque whined.

'Is there any wild fruits or animals that we can eat around here?' Eight asked, turning to Trey and Queen.

'Well, we can definitely find fruits,' Trey said, frowning as he tried to recall his encyclopaedic knowledge, 'we can't eat dragons, they are said to be cursed. But we can find monsters such as Dual Horns to eat.'

'I'm too hungry to hunt for monsters!' Jack said weakly.

'The we'll gather some fruits,' Queen suggested, 'Some of us can wait and guard the campsite.'

They agreed and the group quickly split up to search for edibles with Jack, King and Cinque guarding the campsite, mainly because no one wanted Cinque or Jack to disappear among the trees.

…

'I want meat, koraaa!' Nine shouted as he and Ace waded through the undergrowth.

'You won't be getting any if you scare them off,' Ace warned.

'Tch! I'll definitely get one! Just wait and see!' he declared impatiently.

'Sshh!' Ace hushed his partner as a huge fish-like creature appeared behind the trees not far from them. The creature was large with a horrible looking face and a long scaly tail.

'A Marduk,' Ace whispered, 'you're in luck, Nine. We can definitely eat that.'

Nine had already drawn his sword. None of them expected the swords, which were usually mere decorations on their waists, to be useful. But with their mecha armours lacking in energy, they had no choice but to resort to melee combat.

Without another warning, Nine had dashed forward and slashed at the Marduk. He managed to slash the monster at his tail but the angered creature had hissed and attacked back.

This time Ace seized the chance. With the Marduk preoccupied with Nine, he stabbed his sword through the Marduk's abdomen. The monster hissed angrily again but Ace pushed the sword deeper still, keeping him at bay.

'Take this, koraaa!' Nine shouted as he pierced his sword through the Marduk's head. And at last the creature succumbed. It fell limply onto the ground as the two youths pulled back their swords.

'We got our food!' Nine said happily. Ace could not help but grin at his comrade's antics. Together, they dragged the limp monster back to the campsite where they were greeted by gasps of surprise from their classmates.

'Meatttt~!' Cinque chirped excitedly.

Without wasting any time, the group quickly set up a bonfire and proceeded to cook their prize reward.

'Mmmm~' Cater smiled widely as she took a bite off the Marduk's meat. 'This is delicious!'

'After all we've been through, we finally get to eat!' Jack chimed in.

Midway through their meal, the sound of an airship resounded through the air.

'That must be our ride,' Trey said.

'But we're not done eating yet!' Cater complained.

The mother ship landed on the top of the gorge and soon, Lean Hampelmann's cheery face greeted them against the backdrop of the blue sky.

'Hiya!' he said, looking down the ravine where the group was enjoying their meal, 'You seem to be enjoying yourselves.'

'We're starving over here, Lean,' Sice remarked.

'Well, I'll allow you to continue enjoying your meal while I get your babies up to be recharged and fixed if needed,' Lean replied cheerfully. He went up the mother ship and reappeared with a mecha armour that seemed to be designed to pick up other mecha armours. It was slightly larger than the regular mecha armour and had two tow bars installed to the front where the regular mecha armours can be lifted onto and transported.

As they finished their meal, Lean finally finished transporting all their mecha armours on board the mother ship.

'All righty,' Lean said, 'Let's go!'


	11. Of Gods and Crystals

**Chap 11**

On board the mother ship, Lean refused to tell them anything, insisting that they should get the facts right from someone in charge, which is Qator. Hence, they resorted to talking about mecha armours instead, something Lean was definitely interested in.

'Can't you increase the power capacity of the mecha armours?' Trey asked him.

'Hmm,' Lean frowned upon the screen of his computer, 'it'll take time. We would need to develop a new type of battery for it. We're already working on developing something like that, but well, it's not perfected yet.'

'Can't you install earthquake-inducing-super-force-power for my mecha armour as well?' Cinque asked hopefully.

Lean laughed at her request. 'No Cinque,' he replied, 'I don't want you destroying towns that you're supposed to conquer.'

Cinque pouted at the rejection but before she could say anything, King interfered.

'Lean,' he asked in a serious tone, 'we know all about your undying loyalty to Cid. But could you tell us, what is Cid trying to do that you're so passionate about?'

'Ehhhh~' Lean drawled, greatly exaggerating his shocked reaction. 'And may I know why you would suddenly ask something so serious?' he asked back, still retaining his ever-present smile.

'Just interested, that's all,' King replied succinctly.

Lean's eyes glinted suspiciously, but after a moment, he said, 'To liberate Orience from the Gods.'

'Huh!?'

Confusion filled the room. 'What do you mean by that?' Ace demanded.

Lean chuckled at their reactions before explaining, 'Mere mortals won't understand. The Crystals are the Gods' ways of controlling us. They provided the people with blessings such that they become indispensable. But at the same time, they create l'Cies and cause strife among the different nations. Which is why we must destroy all the Crystals if we want to truly free Orience of the war.'

Gasps can be heard all around the room. No one could believe their ears. Gods and Crystals!?

'Who are these Gods?' Cater asked hesitantly.

'Beings without hearts,' Lean said, 'I don't know the details either, but throwing people into an endless loop of war and death certainly made them seem heartless, wouldn't you agree?'

'And why are you telling us all these?' Seven asked suspiciously.

'Because you asked!' Lean said, chuckling even louder now. 'It wouldn't matter to Cid anyway if you guys knew about this or not. As long as you continue bringing him victory after victory and therefore lead him closer to the Crystals.'

'You bring down the Crystals, what then?' Ace asked, 'If what you said was true, then I don't see how the Gods will allow that to happen without putting up a fight.'

'We'll never know until we try,' Lean said smiling.

…

Back in Ingram, Qator greeted them. He took them to a meeting room where he briefed them on the aftermath of Mahamayuri.

'The King of Concordia had betrayed his own people,' he announced, 'well, he wasn't much of a king since Concordia was a matriarchy. He wanted power and therefore resorted to selling his people out. Our people invaded Mahamayuri with little resistance. Rubrum could not have defended Concordia with their own shortage of manpower and hence Concordia has fallen to the alliance we created with Lorica.'

The members of Class 0 merely stared at one another but did not utter a word about them witnessing Cid's involvement in this betrayal.

Qator, apparently convinced that they were merely shocked by the news, continued, 'Anyway, we'll simply need to conquer Rubrum now. They don't have many territories left and at their current state, we could easily take over them. Please wait for further instructions. For now, you are dismissed.'

…

'I can't believe they totally covered that up!' Nine exclaimed after Qator left the room.

'What were you expecting?' Cater said wryly, 'there was no way they would let anyone know Cid was involved. I doubt even Qator knows about it.'

'At this rate, Rubrum will fall in no time,' Queen said anxiously.

'Why are we against this anyway?' Jack asked, 'I mean, if Rubrum falls, then we would win this war, right?'

'Technically speaking, yes,' Seven replied, 'but if the myths are true and the Gods do exist, then there is that possibility of Finis – the apocalypse – happening. If the Gods are omnipotent then they might even be the one to cause it when they realise that they are losing control of the world because of the loss of the Crystals.'

'Precisely'

The sudden intrusion of the last voice startled the whole group. They turned towards the doorway where Arecia stood, calm as ever with her cigarette in one hand. She carefully eyed each and every one of her children with her sharp eyes.

'Cid's foolishness must be stopped,' Arecia continued, 'He is merely using the Milites Empire for his own personal ambitions. Attempting to cut off the Gods' connection to this world. A foolish act by a foolish man.'

'Mother…'

'You must pick your own paths,' she said, 'do what you think is right.' And with that, she disappeared behind the doors. Never to be seen again…


	12. Betrayal

**Chap 12**

Ace stood in the grand hall. The burning sunset sent streaks of vermilion rays through the tall windows on one side of the room. On the far end of that very hall sat the Imperial Marshal, Cid Aulstyne, sitting on the throne with his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought.

'Tell me,' Ace began, his voice reverberating through the empty space, 'what will become of this world when you have liberated it from the Gods?'

Cid smirked under his white hat, but his eyes remained closed nonetheless. 'I see you've figured that part out.'

'Cut the crap!' Ace retorted.

Cid smiled even wider. 'Nothing,' he said, 'Nothingness awaits the world. Finis will come, and the Gods along with it. There lies my chance.'

'So you intend on using the people of Orience as bait!?' Ace exclaimed.

'People will die eventually,' Cid said, this time standing up from the throne. 'Only the strong will survive. If I manage to bring down the Gods, then the survivors can create a new future. Otherwise, the whole world shall come down with me as I take down the Gods.'

Ace shook his head disbelievingly. Here was a man he trusted. A man his father trusted. And his sheer ambition sounded like a suicide plan regardless how noble he reasoned it out to be.

'You don't believe I can do it, do you?' Cid asked quietly, eyeing Ace's disbelieving look. Ace did not reply. Cid chuckled as he continued, 'I don't blame you. I don't know how it will turn out either.'

'You're betting everyone's lives on sheer chance!?' Ace contended.

'I'd rather die than be a pawn of the Gods!' Cid retorted.

'Not everyone shares your point of view!' Ace countered vehemently, 'what you're doing… You're using everyone else as your pawns. How different are you from the Gods that you so detest!?'

_Bang!_

Ace could feel a sharp searing pain on his right shoulder. Warm blood oozed through his shirt and stained his white cloak crimson. Cid had drawn his gun.

'I meant for you to live,' Cid said, his eyes dead and expressionless, with his gun still aimed directly at Ace. 'I meant for you to stay by my side and take down the Gods together. But now I see… that seed of doubt in your heart… it will cost me. Should you live, you'll become a hindrance… So goodbye_, Your Highness_.'

He carefully aimed his gun at Ace's head. But Ace had no intention of letting Cid kill him right there and then. He drew his sword and swiftly ran towards Cid.

_Splash!_

Blood splattered all over his face as he cleanly cut off Cid's arm which up to a second ago had aimed his gun at Ace.

'ARRRGGGHHHHH!' Cid roared in pain and horror as he saw his amputated arm. 'GUARDDSSS!'

Before Ace could finish Cid off, dozens of guards had entered and fired their machine guns at him. Having no choice, Ace ran towards the windows and crashed through one of them. Outside, Nine's mecha armour, which had been standing by, swiftly grabbed him amidst the raining bullets.

Queen and King, with their respective mecha armours, soon came to their defence. Blocking out the machine gun bullets, Nine was able to take Ace to where his mecha armour was readied beforehand.

Out of a sudden, hundreds of machine gun carrying Militesi soldiers had swarmed the courtyard where they stood, pelleting them endlessly with bullets. Cid had apparently alerted the guards and ordered for them to take down Class 0.

'Retreat!' Ace commanded. 'Get out of Ingram, NOW!'

Staying would mean slaughtering their fellow countrymen, and that was the last thing the prince would have wanted for his people. Bitter and reluctant as they were, the mecha armours flew out of Ingram, branded as traitors.


	13. A New Hope

**Chap 13**

'What now, Ace?' Cinque asked through the radio.

Ace, who was tearing a portion of his cloak to use as a bandage for his wounded shoulder, replied dryly, 'we head for Arkham. I hate the idea of defecting to another country, but once our mecha armours run out of energy, we'd be powerless. The least we can do is try to help Rubrum take Cid down.'

Silence ensued until Queen asked worriedly, 'how's your wound, Ace?'

'I'm not dying yet, that's for sure,' Ace replied.

'Don't you go dying on us!' Nine shouted over the radio, causing it to buzz.

'I'm not going to,' Ace asserted, although his head was starting to feel light from the loss of blood. The least he could do was to make sure that the group's morale remained high, even when he personally felt bleak about their future.

…

The moment they closed in on Arkham, hundreds of Rubrum soldiers rushed out and held them at gunpoint – or rather, magic point. Their hands glowed dangerously as they landed on the fields ahead of Arkham and disembarked their mecha armours, with Ace leading the way.

'We mean no harm!' Ace announced to the soldiers, holding up both hands, 'I need to speak to the Chancellor.'

'Heh, you dirty Militesi scumbags,' one Rubrum soldier scoffed, 'we're not buying your dirty tricks. You're dead!'

He was about to fire the spell he was charging when a familiar voice stopped him.

'Hold it!' A candidate riding a chocobo had dashed forward to the scene, past the wary soldiers and stopped right in front of Ace. Ace immediately recognised the black hair and blue mantle.

Machina Kunagiri got off his chocobo and approached Ace. 'You're the prince of Milites, aren't you?'

'Yeah,' Ace said, 'we've met before.'

'Yeah, thanks for before.' Machina replied, smiling. He then caught sight of Ace's bloody shoulder and his eyes widened in horror. 'What happened!?'

'I need to speak to the Chancellor,' Ace repeated, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

'You need to be treated!' Machina said frantically. 'Soldiers,' he commanded, turning to the Rubrum soldiers who had been watching with utmost interest, 'these are political guests! Alert the Chancellor at once! I'll bring them to the Peristylium.'

'But Machina, you don't know what they're up to…' the first soldier said, evidently convinced that all these was a dirty ploy by the Milites Empire.

'If you are concerned you can watch over them,' Machina replied, 'but _do not_ harm them.'

The soldier fidgeted, apparently not buying Machina's words, but nevertheless motioned for a few more soldiers to follow behind Class 0 as Machina led them towards the Suzaku Peristylium.

…

Ace was brought to a cosy lounge whilst the remaining members of Class 0 waited in another heavily guarded room. Machina sat with him, eyeing his wound with a concerned look. A short while later, a girl with auburn hair entered the room.

'Ah Rem,' Machina greeted the girl, 'Just in time. Please help me treat the prince.' The girl nodded firmly and sat down beside Ace. Rem began untying the piece of cloth that Ace had haphazardly tied to stop the bleeding.

'It seems that the bullet is still inside,' Rem said as she examined the wound. 'I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I'll need you to remove your shirt and cloak. And this might also hurt.'

'Please just call me Ace,' Ace said as he took off his blood-soaked shirt. The wound was still bleeding furiously despite his earlier attempts to stop it.

Rem's hands began to glow as they hovered above the wound. And a sharp pain, reminiscent of the one that caused the wound, seared through his flesh. The bullet stirred within his shoulder as Rem's magic attempted to draw it out.

Noticing his pained expression, Rem gently said again, 'Please bear with this for a moment, Your Hi- Ace.' And without warning, a pain tenfold the one earlier pierced through his shoulder as the bullet burst out of the wound and dropped to the ground ahead of him. Ace gasped in pain as Rem quickly cast healing magic on the bleeding wound. Slowly, the hole covered itself up.

'There,' Rem said happily, 'it's done now. You still need plenty of rest though, Ace. My magic cannot replenish loss of blood.'

'Thank you,' Ace said gratefully as he draped his cloak around his bare shoulders.

As Machina got up and brought Ace water, the door opened again, and this time a wizened man with grey hair and beard stepped through the door. Despite his age, the man stood proud and tall, and his eyes seemed to emanate wisdom and charisma. Ace immediately recognised the man as the Chancellor of the Dominion of Rubrum, Khalia Chival VI.

'Rem. Machina. Thank you for your help,' he said to the two candidates. 'But I would like to speak with the prince in private if you will.'

Rem and Machina bowed in respect and left the room.

Khalia sat himself down on a plush chair opposite the sofa where Ace was seated. 'Now Your Highness, if you would please explain your predicament.'

'I'm not much of a prince now, sir,' Ace said wryly, 'I am but a mere traitor to my country now.' He proceeded to explain everything to Khalia, including Cid's words and motives, his conspiracy with the Concordian King, as well as Andoria's warning. Khalia listened intently at his words, never once interrupting.

When Ace had finished his story, Khalia finally asked, 'What is it that you hope to gain by coming here?'

Ace smiled bitterly as he replied, 'I know that we're not fit to be coming here after all that we have done – conquering your towns and all. But still, I refuse to sit back and let Cid do as he pleases.' Ace stared down at his own hands, angry at his own failure at finishing Cid up earlier, angry with himself for having to resort to plead for help from an enemy nation to bring down a villain from his own. 'I… I want to bring him down… but I need your help.' His voice quivered angrily as the blood inside him boiled at the thought of Cid's ruthless actions.

'I… I will stop him!' he proclaimed loudly. And suddenly, his clenched fist lit up with magical flames. He eyes widened in shock as he stared at the burning fire; they weren't harming him. It was… magic.

Khalia raised his eyebrow as he eyed the miracle happening right before him before finally smiling. 'Well,' he said amusedly, 'it seems that the decision does not lie with me after all. You who cannot return to Milites would not be able to recharge those mecha armours of yours. But it seems that the Suzaku Crystal has provided you with new means to fight.'

Khalia stood up and walked towards Ace. He placed one hand on Ace's shoulder and gently said, 'Welcome to Rubrum… Ace.'


	14. Trey

**Chap 14**

'_Shut the hell up, Trey!' Sice groaned._

'_But this is essential knowledge!' I retaliated. 'As I was saying, the process of summoning the grand eidolons of Suzaku sacrifices hundreds of their own people… but in doing so they would be able to eliminate hundreds of thousands of their enemies… which could very possibly be us. In which case we should be armed to prepare ourselves for such a disaster and-'_

'_By which case we would be dead anyway should they decide to summon it!' Sice snapped at me. _

'_Well there is a loophole,' I continued, 'the summoning can take up to six hours… sometimes even longer… that's what I was touching on about survival… the key is knowing when they are summoning and how to disrupt that and…'_

_By this time, Sice had slumped her silver head on the desk in front of her. I'm used to getting this sort of reaction, especially from Sice. Nevertheless, I feel that it is truly important for her to understand these kinds of knowledge. _

'_Give her a break, Trey,' Ace said from the other side of the room, chuckling as he flipped a page in his book. _

'_THANK YOU ACE!' Sice exclaimed, 'Now leave me alone!' She swiftly got out of her seat and left the classroom. _

_I frowned at Ace but before I could say anything, the classroom door opened again. This time, King entered the classroom._

'_Hey Trey,' he called out to me, 'didn't you say you wanted to do some target practice?'_

'_Ahh, is it time already?' I asked, 'would you like to join us, Ace?'_

'_I'll pass,' Ace said without averting his gaze from his book._

_I shook my head and sighed deeply. There was no use trying to convince Ace to do something when he does not feel like doing it. Yet I found it amazing that he could always compete head to head with Queen and me in terms of results when the two of us seemed to study tenfold more often. _

_I followed King to the underground hall where machinery was installed to stimulate moving targets. There, I took my bow and arrow, as well as other archery equipment, out of the locker. Archery was a hobby for me, not so much a mean of combat – we had mecha armours for that. King too, retrieved his handguns from the adjacent locker. _

_We spent the whole afternoon firing rounds after rounds, arrows after arrows. By the time we re-emerged from the underground hall, the sun was already setting. _

'_Hey King,' I asked, 'do you find me annoying?'_

'_Huh?' King looked at me perplexedly, 'Why the sudden question?'_

'_Well, it always seemed as though no one is willing to listen to whatever I say all the way until the end,' I said bitterly._

_King burst out laughing at my words before saying, 'well you need to reflect back on how long you had been talking in the first place.'_

'_Well, there's always so much explanation that comes with every theory.' I said, defending myself. 'Speaking of which-'_

'_There, there,' King said, cutting me off, 'don't start on me now.'_

_I quickly shut my mouth. King looked at me thoughtfully before continuing, 'Trey, we are not saying we don't need all those knowledge you have. In fact, we need it; we need you. That's your role. You don't have to make sure everyone understands all that you know.'_

'_Well, admittedly I do get carried away sometimes,' I said, smiling abashedly. _

_King chuckled, 'Yeah, but don't take everyone's rejections too personally either. The fact that we can bluntly tell you to stop ranting meant that we are comfortable around you.'_

_I took a deep breath. Talking to King could always help ease one's thoughts. His gentle nature combined with his no-nonsense attitude always ensured that his comrades could get the best possible advice from him. 'Thanks King,' I said, 'I feel better now.'_

'_Heh,' King smirked, 'Not that I'm expecting you to change though. C'mon let's get dinner. I'm starving.'_

_I laughed along with him. No, I guess I won't be changing anytime soon. But at least, I understand now… that I don't have to try too hard. Trying to help everyone understand everything – I guess that's just the wrong approach. I felt like a burden has been lifted off my chest and my footsteps felt much lighter as I followed King to the dining hall for our dinner. _

**Hey! I'd like to thank TheMysteriousGeek2345 for all your reviews. I am really glad you liked it.** **Doesn't seem like a lot of people come by to read Type-0 fanfic nowadays. But I really love Type-0 and I am writing this to celebrate them finally releasing an English version (soon). Anyways, please continue supporting me and enjoy the story!**


	15. The Ultima Bomb

**Chap 15**

'Ace, you really should still be resting,' Queen reprimanded when she found Ace at the arena a mere two days after coming to Rubrum. He was accompanied by Machina, Rem and Deuce.

'I'm not wasting any time,' Ace replied, 'there's no telling when Cid is going to launch his next move.'

Queen frowned at him. She knew that he was right, but letting her injured leader get back to training so soon was against her principles.

'C'mon Queen, don't worry too much.' Ace said smiling, 'Check this out!' he pulled out a deck of cards and flung a couple of them to the practice dummy on the other side of the field. The magical cards zipped through the air and etched themselves firmly onto the dummy. Queen raised her eyebrows, apparently amused.

She walked over to where the dummy was and inspected the cards. 'They… really worked!' she exclaimed.

Ace laughed. 'Of course they do,' he replied. He looked at the deck of cards in his hand, which had seemingly replenished itself. Strange as it seemed, the deck of cards felt more familiar than his mecha armour had ever been. It was as though he was meant to wield them all along.

'Hey Queen,' Deuce called out cheerfully, 'Check out my new weapon too!' To Queen's utmost surprise, Deuce took out a flute. However, as she blew into the flute, the harmonious melody emanating from the flute took the shape of a silvery wisp that hovered around the musician. 'They can be used to attack or defend depending on the melody I play,' Deuce explained as the wisp circled around her a few times before disappearing.

'I'm so envious,' Rem joked, 'we have spent years studying magic and here you are, catching up with us in a span of two days.'

'Might be the sense of urgency kicking in,' Ace said coyly.

Queen opened her mouth to say something, but at that very moment, the earth shook violently. 'An earthquake!?' They began looking around frantically. It was then that Ace caught sight of an ominous green pillar of light at the northern sky.

_No…_ His eyes widened with horror and fear as the clouds began to swirl around the source of the light. Without further ado, he broke off into a sprint towards the Peristylium's command room with his friends right at his heels.

Candidates and soldiers alike were frantically running about the Peristylium. It was a scene of pure confusion and chaos. No one knew what was going on and therefore assumed the worst – that they were under attack. Traversing the Peristylium amongst the pandemonium was immensely difficult, and after much difficulty, Ace and the others finally managed to reach the command room.

They found a crowd had already gathered in the command room, discussing their situation. There was Khalia himself, the Commandant – an elderly bald man in charge of the Rubrum military, Kurasame Susaya – one of the commanders whose icy stare and masked lower face sent chills down everyone's spines, as well as a number of commanders and candidates.

'The Ultima Bomb,' Ace said immediately upon entering the room, turning everyone's heads towards him, 'where has it been dropped?'

'Whoa, whoa, slow down,' the Commandant said, waving his large stubby hands around, 'the Ultima Bomb you say? What do you mean by this?' His eyes narrowed suspiciously. It was clear from their first meeting on the day before that the Commandant had disapproved of the Chancellor's decision to accept 'the Militesi traitors' as he dubbed Class 0.

'It is a weapon developed by Cid that can annihilate _everything_ within its radius of effect,' Ace replied impatiently, 'so where was it dropped?'

Before the Commandant could speak this time, a blonde candidate with a maroon mantle spoke up, 'the capital of the Lorican Alliance. Which is basically the epicentre of all life in Lorica.'

Everyone's faces turned grave at the candidate's words. 'So you mean the capital of Lorica has been _annihilated_?' Kurasame asked, turning to Ace.

'If that's where the bomb was dropped, then yes,' Ace said grimly, 'It would appear that Cid has exhausted his use of the Lorican Alliance.'

'But…' the Commandant stammered, 'what will become of us!? That bomb meant that he could annihilate us as well! Just like that! Reduced to dust with no prior warning!'

'He could have done so even before this,' Queen said, 'but he didn't. It was because his façade was that of conquering Rubrum and Concordia as a means of providing food and fertile lands for the Militesi citizens. The Ultima Bomb would render and lands infertile and even contaminated.' She hesitated a little before continuing, 'But now that we know what his true motives are, I guess there's no guarantee that he won't drop the Ultima Bomb on us. After destroying the Genbu and Souryuu Crystals, the Suzaku Crystal is the only hurdle left for him to clear after all.'

'You… you…' the Commandant spat angrily as he pointed his stubby finger at Ace, Queen and Deuce, 'you filthy traitors have to take responsibility for all these! You-'

'That's enough Commandant,' Khalia said, calm but firm. 'There's no point shifting blames, and these youths are fighting for us now.' He then turned to Ace and asked, 'Ace, is there any way for us to counter the Ultima Bombs, should they decide to drop them on us?'

'Not that I know of, sorry,' Ace said apologetically.

'Then in that case, we need to make a move before Cid makes any moves on us,' Khalia said.

'At this point, we might be battling against time,' Ace said, 'I propose that we launch our attacks directly on Ingram and specifically Cid. There is no time to be conquering the cities and towns anymore.'

'And how exactly do you propose we attack Ingram without any bases nearby!?' the Commandant retorted, his face turning beet red from anger.

'I agree with Ace,' Kurasame interrupted before Ace could say anything, 'Based on Ingram's location near the sea, we could summon the grand eidolon Leviathan and destroy Ingram together with Cid.'

'The grand eidolon!?'

Now everyone in the room was whispering frantically. It was apparent that they found the idea incredulous. Ace had heard of the grand eidolons before. They were ancient summons that only a l'Cie of Suzaku can call upon, but at the cost of hundreds of Rubrum's own souls.

'The risk! Kurasame!' the Commandant flared, 'where are we supposed to commence the summoning process!? I hope you are not going to suggest the middle of the sea!?'

'Precisely,' Kurasame replied coldly, 'if we can launch a floating island close enough to Ingram where the l'Cie Caetuna and all the souls needed to summon Leviathan…'

'Have you ever considered that the sea near Ingram is close to Concordia!?' the Commandant retaliated, 'that's enemy territory now – Militesi territory!'

'Which could in fact make it a possibility,' Ace chimed in, 'Cid does not care much about Concordia. All he needed was the Crystal. He had abandoned Concordia with minimal defences. If we can convince the remaining Concordian Astral Guards to help us, then we might be able to launch the island from Mahamayuri.'

Gaping at a loss for words, the Commandant directed his anger at the wall, kicking it furiously. Khalia, in turn, beamed at Ace and Kurasame, 'that sounds like a plan. I'll need the both of you to work out the plan in detail right away. And Ace,' he said turning to the youth, 'I might need you to personally head down to Mahamayuri to convince the Astral Guards if that's all right with you?'

'Of course sir,' Ace replied with conviction. He was going to make this work; he will take down Cid at all costs. He saw no other way around this; lives would have to be sacrificed in order to prevent Finis from happening. And as much as he hated the idea of sacrificing Militesi civilians to stop Cid, the fact that Rubrum was willing to sacrifice hundreds of their own pretty much sealed his decision.

'Thank you, that would be wonderful,' Khalia said gratefully.

As the various commanders and candidates dispersed to calm the Peristylium down, Ace sat down with Kurasame to discuss their plan.

This could very well be their one last chance…


	16. Revisiting Mahamayuri

**Chap 16 **

As Ace had predicted, Mahamayuri was a dead city with minimal Militesi defences. The dragons still roamed the skies, but no longer as cooperating entities towards the remaining Concordians, or towards any humans for that matter. In fact, they attacked humans randomly, choosing when they felt like it. The savage dragons were probably one of the reasons why Cid had decided to abandon Concordia. Stationing soldiers here would be a waste of lives and effort. The wild dragons serve as deterrents enough for anyone considering invading Concordia.

Ace, along with the rest of Class 0, as well as Rem and Machina, moved across Mahamayuri whilst lurking in the shadows. They stealthily took down a number of dragons, which they had problems getting past, but otherwise, they have managed to traverse without any problems.

However, as they entered entrance hall of the Souryuu Peristylium, they were ambushed by a dozen armed Concordian guards, led by a familiar Astral Guard with blue hair – Claes Celestia Misca Sancest.

Celestia immediately recognised Class 0 upon seeing them. 'What do you want this time?' she asked dangerously, 'Have we not suffered enough defeat?'

'We came to seek your permission,' Ace replied.

'Permission?' Celestia asked disbelievingly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

At once, Ace and the others began telling her about their current situation and their plan to bring down Ingram.

Celestia remained quiet for a moment as they finished talking before ordering her guards to stand down. 'We'll talk in detail inside,' she said as she led them to a room with abundant blue sofas, armchairs and footstools.

She motioned for them to sit and ordered her guards to stand guard outside the room before turning to them. 'Is it really true?' she asked gravely, 'about taking down Ingram?'

'One hundred per cent,' Machina replied, 'I can vouch for them.'

However, Celestia's gaze remained sceptical. 'How can you be sure that the summoning would work?' she asked again, 'Don't you think the Milites army would not notice a floating island in the middle of the ocean near Ingram?'

'We have came up with a plan to distract them,' Queen explained, 'we would attack Ingram up front and pull back at the last minute when the summoning has been completed.'

'And I take it that all of you are the ones who are going to distract them?' she asked. All of Class 0, along with Machina and Rem, nodded vehemently. 'You have to last for six hours until the summoning is complete. That is if you can even survive for six hours against the Milites army.'

'Heh!' Nine scoffed, 'don't you underestimate us!'

'You have to remember that you don't own any bases nearby Ingram,' Celestia warned, 'you would be fighting in isolation.'

'We know,' Rem said, her voice ringing with determination, 'this is what we have been training so hard for, each of us in our own ways. We have confidence that this would work.'

'Heh, such admirable stances,' Celestia said, finally letting out a smile. 'All right,' she finally said, 'I'll help you.'

…

Celestia led them down the hallways to a tower on the far end of the Peristylium. There, much to their surprise, were about twenty dragons that did not only refrain from attacking them, but greeted Celestia joyfully.

'But wasn't the Souryuu Crystal compromised!?' Cater asked perplexedly.

'It was,' Celestia replied calmly, 'these dragons can no longer understand my speech. But they are dragons that have shared my experiences and bonded together with me. They do not need to understand my speech to remain loyal. They respond to the heart.'

Celestia then placed one hand on a large silvery dragon and reached out her other hand towards Ace. Ace walked apprehensively towards where Celestia and the dragon stood, and once he had gotten close enough, Celestia took his hand and gently placed it on the dragon's head. Ace winced, half expecting the dragon to snap at his hand. But instead, the dragon closed its eyes to his touch, seemingly enjoying the affection.

'It seems that it had accepted you,' Celestia said, smiling, 'these dragons will help you in distracting the army in Ingram. And so will I.'

'Thank you,' Ace said gratefully with his eyes still eyeing the dragon before him in amazement.

'I should be the one thanking you,' Celestia replied, staring at the dragons flying around the high ceilings of the tower, 'It would appear that I am a warrior after all. I cannot remain quiet and confined within Mahamayuri. So for giving me this chance to re-join the war, you have my thanks.'

'Then let's all work together and make this count!' Deuce said enthusiastically.

'That goes without saying!' Nine retorted.

'I wanna get a dragon too!' Cinque chimed in. And one after another, they began voicing their desire to try riding a dragon.

'Noisy as always, eh?' Seven said to King, smiling as they watched their comrades' antics.

King nodded, smiling, 'Come what may, we'll remain this way, won't we?'

Seven nodded, knowing that none of their comrades would have it any other way.


	17. Attack on Ingram

**Chap 17**

'We're under attack!'

'Who'd be so stupid to attack Ingram directly!?'

'Concordians? No, Rubrumese? I can't really tell!'

Echoes of panic and fear spread over Ingram as the unprecedented attack took place. Each of the twelve members of Class 0, along with Machina, Rem and Celestia had each mounted a dragon with their faces covered by masks similar to that of Kurasame's. They were joined by a respectable number of other dragons amassed by those loyal to Celestia.

...

'_Wear these,' Kurasame had told them as he handed them the masks. 'The people of Milites cannot know that their prince had turned against them. If we hope to rebuild the world after Cid has been taken down, we'll need you to rally the people of Milites. That's your job as the prince.'_

'_We're already branded as traitors,' Ace replied grimly, 'what difference does it make?' _

'_It makes all the difference,' Kurasame asserted, 'Being branded a traitor is not the same as being seen committing acts of treason. We'll clear your name after, but for now, you must not be seen.'_

_..._

The dragons agilely soared through the skies of Ingram, navigating gracefully between the high-rise skyscrapers with their riders taking down Militesi soldiers one after another.

Cinque's dragon glided low as its rider jumped off its back and pummelled her mace to the ground, creating a seismic earthquake which took down at least two dozen soldiers who were firing at them.

'Nice, Cinque!' Jack praised her as his dragon flew past her. He too unsheathed his katana and focused his target on the highest skyscraper in the area, from which a number of soldiers were firing at the dragons. The katana glowed red as he directed his dragon to charge directly at the top of the skyscraper where most of the soldiers were stationed. And with one fell swoop, he sliced five pillars supporting the top floor of the skyscraper, and the structure came tumbling down, along with a number of soldiers.

The battle ensued for hours, each of them closely noting the time ticking on their watches. King and Cater endlessly fired their guns; Nine jumped from dragon to dragon, building to building, stabbing each and every target mercilessly with his spear; Seven utilised her whip sword, claiming the lives of any enemy who strayed her path; Trey stood on the roof of one of the taller buildings and fired his arrows all around the area; Deuce's melody wisps haunted the enemies as she gracefully flew through the city on the back of her dragon; Ace too fired his cards from the back of his silver dragon; Whereas Queen, Machina, Celestia, Rem, Eight, Queen and Sice had opted to dismount their dragons and fight from the ground.

5 hours… 4 hours… 3 hours… 2 hours… The battle grew fiercer as time ticked by. The desperate Militesi army sent out a slew of magitek armours, each one larger than the one before in a bid to stop the intruders from destroying their city.

…

Ace dismounted his dragon right in front of the Byakko Peristylium when he caught sight of a familiar mech sitting alone right in front of the main entrance.

'So it was you after all, Ace,' Qator's voice rang through the empty square. 'Your mask may fool the civilians, but I know you well enough to recognise you.'

'I don't expect anything less from you, Qator,' Ace acknowledged.

'I'm sorry that I had to be the one stopping you,' Qator said as his mech, Gabriel began to light up.

'No one's stopping me today!' Ace declared fiercely.

Qator did not waste any moment firing a series of bullets at Ace, to which Ace teleported away, dodging them.

'I see you have adopted magic now,' Qator said, 'Such a shame…'

Gabriel swiftly dodged Ace's first round of cards, to which he quickly counterattacked. Again Ace dodged the bullets and this time fired Thunder magic at the mech. The exchange continued for a moment before the COMM system – a magical radio system used by the Rubrum army – sounded in his ears.

'Ace…' Kurasame warned through the COMM, 'I'm giving you 5 minutes. Retreat now!'

Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of the dragons and his friends flying out of the city upon hearing the warning. He whistled for his dragon and teleported on top of it. But Qator was reluctant to let him escape so easily.

'You are not running away, Ace!' he shouted as he crashed Gabriel towards the dragon. Caught in a deadlock, both Gabriel and the dragon continued rising through the sky, albeit with a lack of control.

'Ace, people will go through lengths to achieve whatever they are trying to achieve, just as Cid does,' Qator said, 'If you want to stop him, you can't be half-hearted. Are you prepared to sacrifice lives to achieve your goal? If you can't do that, you will never be able to stop Cid!'

'Are you doubting my resolve, Qator?' Ace sneered, much to Qator's surprise. 'Look behind you… I am prepared to pay whatever price to put an end to Cid's ambitions!' With Qator taken by surprise, Ace fired a fire spell, which struck one of Gabriel's wings, breaking the deadlock.

Losing its balance, Gabriel plummeted from the sky. But what struck fear within Qator most was not the fact that he was freefalling 500 metres from the sky, but rather, the scenery of the sea on the other side of the city…

…

One by one the candidates fell as they drained their magic powers for Caetuna. The l'Cie never once broke her concentration. Her summoning was almost complete.

After warning Ace and the others to retreat, Kurasame too channelled the remaining ounce of his power to Caetuna. And at once, bubbles began appearing in the water ahead of them.

It began slowly. Then the bubbles began to increase in number at an alarming rate. And out of the depths of the ocean, a gigantic serpent-like creature appeared before them. With scaly skin and great wing-like fins, the colossal Leviathan would evoke fear in the eyes of any enemy. Caetuna and Kurasame watched in awe as the water behind Leviathan began to rise. Smiling, knowing that their job was done, Kurasame toppled to the floor whilst Caetuna crystallises…

…

_700 metres? No, those waves had to be at least 800 metres high._ Qator thought as he saw the mountain-like waves. Fear began creeping into his mind like a poison. He frantically tried pushing various buttons within Gabriel, trying to make it fly back into the sky to escape the tsunami, but it was futile.

The mighty creature gave a harrowing screech and on cue, the waves came tumbling down. People's screams were blocked out by the crashing sound of the waves hitting Ingram, obliterating the mighty skyscrapers effortlessly. As for Qator, the rest was darkness…


	18. Obsession and Downfall

**Chap 18**

Ingram, the once grand capital of the Milites Empire, was nothing but a sea of rubbles. The once grand skyscrapers were nothing but a pile of rocks. Mechs used by the Milites army to attack the intruders were nothing but pieces of scrap metal. Dead bodies lie everywhere, some even devoid of their knowing tags, making them impossible to recognise.

They scanned the devastating scenery from up high, on the backs of the mighty dragons. But as Ace assessed the situation, he knew that something was not right…

'Cid's still alive…' he said gravely.

'What!?' Nine exclaimed, 'But all these destruction…'

'You remember him, don't you?' Ace said, 'in this world, we can't remember the dead. The fact that we can remember him meant that he's still alive.'

'Search the place!' Celestia hastily commanded and the group need no telling twice.

They scoured the whole destroyed city, inch by inch, until finally…

'Everyone come here, quickly! South edge of the city!' Cater shouted frantically through the COMM system. Her comrades quickly dashed to where she was. And the moment they reached the southern edge, they immediately realised the source of her anxiety.

There, amongst the rubble, stood the crystallised statue of a figure – a figure they recognised immediately as Nimbus, the Byakko l'Cie.

'What's Nimbus doing here?' Sice asked warily, 'and why is he crystallised?'

'A l'Cie crystallises when it has accomplished a mission given to it by the Crystal…' Queen said, gulping.

'You fools! It was you after all!' A voice, which sounded as though it was enhanced through the use of a machine, rang through the barren landscape. It sent chills down each and every one of their spines – it was a voice they knew very well.

Cid Aulstyne was still alive.

And out of the rubbles close to where Nimbus's crystallised figure was, a gigantic, black mecha armour with drills for its arms appeared. But the size of the mecha armour alone did not faze them; rather, the sight of the object right in the centre of the giant robot was what instilled fear, shock and anger in everyone's hearts.

The source of the mecha armour's energy was none other than the Byakko Crystal itself…

Immediately, the reason behind Nimbus's crystallisation and Cid's survival became clear to them. As a l'Cie, Nimbus was bound to protect the Crystal and therefore had no choice but to protect Cid, who had taken control of the Crystal, as well.

'Hahahahahahahaha!' Cid laughed maniacally, 'Destroy me and you'll destroy the Byakko Crystal as well. Doesn't that go against what you stood for? Isn't the destruction of the Crystals something that you are trying to avoid, hence your pathetic attempts to stop me?'

'Ace, what do we do?' Cater asked worriedly.

Ace did not reply immediately. Cid was right. Destroying the Byakko Crystal would mean stepping closer to what Cid was trying to achieve. But they still have the Suzaku Crystal… Will Finis still come if only one of the Crystal survives?

'Don't take too long to decide, Ace,' Cid taunted, 'If you don't destroy me, I'll use Brionac here to destroy Rubrum and the Suzaku Crystal.'

Ace narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with pure hatred and disgust for the man he once respected. Knowing that he was left with no other choice, he finally gave the command, 'Finish him.'

And at once, his comrades began their attack. Nine jumped off his dragon onto Brionac's main body, avoiding its drills as he moved closer to the core of the mecha armour. He managed to stab the main body a couple of times before Brionac shook him off. But Nine's attack was quickly chained by shots from King, Cater and Trey.

Machina too followed suit and jumped off his own dragon, diving headfirst with his drill rapiers aimed directly at Brionac while Rem and Deuce fired magic spells at it.

'Don't you think that you can defeat me so easily!' Cid hollered as one of Brionac's drills grazed Nine's thigh. But before he could chain the attack, Jack had jumped to Nine's rescue, blocking out the drill with his katana.

Seizing the chance whereby Cid's attention was focused on Nine and Jack, Machina plunged his rapier deep within Brionac's turbo engines. Sparks flew as Brionac lost its ability to fly. Cinque swiftly followed up with a devastating attack on two of its legs by means of an earthquake.

'Ugh… You insolent fools!' Cid growled, 'I will rise above the Gods! You watch and see! You will not best me!'

'Fall back,' Ace calmly commanded through the COMM system. His comrades quickly complied. With Brionac's turbo engines and leg compromised, it stood by unable to pursue its preys.

'Cid, your obsession with the Crystals drove you to madness.' Ace said, 'Someone like you cannot hope to rise above humanity, let alone Gods!'

By the time Cid noticed Ace's glowing hands, it was too late. Ace had unleashed the ultimate magic, Ultima, which he had charged, as Cid was preoccupied with the rest of Class 0. As the blinding green light engulfed him, the last look on his eyes was that of fear and insanity combined. His lifelong dream of bringing down the Gods had consumed him. The charisma he wielded at the beginning of his campaign had rotted into mere obsession. And the price he paid was that these child soldiers whom he had once placed all hope upon, became his greatest enemy.

Maybe it was regret; or maybe it was indignation. Cid could no longer tell as the last of his consciousness slipped away, knowing only that he had failed…

…

The Ultima magic left behind nothing but a large crater where Brionac once stood. Cid was gone.

As their memories of the Imperial Marshal began fading from their minds, a new sense of fulfilment engulfed them; knowing that whoever it was that they came to destroy, had been taken down at last.

But their happiness did not last…

Out of a sudden, the earth shook violently. Dark clouds began forming, and the once blue skies turned blood red…

'What's happening!?'

'Is this… Finis!?'

'But it can't be! The Suzaku Crystal remains intact! Shouldn't Finis be prevented if Cid was stopped!?'

An ominous voice soon echoed within their heads, saying a verse that each of them knew all too well.

_When time greets 9 and 9 with 9, in the depths of consciousness, something pulses. And when the first seal is broken, a voice of thunder resounds. Saying we are upon you…_


	19. Finis

**Chap 19**

Out of the shadows of the red skies, ghastly humanoid creatures appeared in the distant horizon. These creatures were about three times their size with purplish armours and pale expressionless faces. The sight of these bizarre creatures struck fear within their hearts for reasons unknown.

Trey pulled out his bow and arrow and fired a shot at one of the approaching creatures. Unfazed, the creature simply swung its sword at the arrow and casually knocked it away.

Out of a sudden, Celestia gasped, seemingly realising something. 'Pull back!' she anxiously cautioned. 'These creatures… If it's true… then they are the Lulusath Warriors!'

'What are these Lulusath Warriors!?' Eight asked worriedly. For these creatures to be able to strike fear into the usually calm Celestia, it must mean that they truly are dangerous.

'Finis… I've read about it in an ancient book,' Celestia said as the whole group frantically flew as far away as possible from the Lulusath Warriors. 'It said that when Finis comes, then Gala would send these Lulusath Warriors to harvest the souls of every single human in Orience.'

'Gala?' Sice asked, 'Is that the name of the so-called God that Cid was harping about?'

'One of them, yes,' Celestia replied, 'there were three: Gala, Diva and another whose name was never revealed in any writings. According to the book I read, when Finis comes, a Judge would be selected and the Palace of All Magic would appear somewhere within Orience where this Judge would reside, watching over the destruction of the world, ensuring that Gala's work is completed.'

Everyone shuddered as they heard Celestia's explanation and did not utter another word until they reached a mountain range where they landed in the valleys and found cover in a large cave. King immediately tried contacting the Suzaku Peristylium's command centre for updates on the situation in Arkham. A frantic Naghi, a candidate in charge of information processing, greeted him.

'You're alive!' he shouted through the COMM, 'You won't believe what happened here!'

'What's the situation like over there?' King asked.

'Terrible!' Naghi exclaimed, 'these gigantic ghost-like warriors suddenly appeared and destroyed everything in sight. They killed about two-thirds of the people here in the blink of an eye and left everything in ruins!'

'Are they still there?' King asked again.

'No,' Naghi replied, 'the rest of us survivors barricaded ourselves within the Peristylium. They didn't exactly insist on entering but disappeared as suddenly as they came. What's your situation over there?'

'We're fine,' King answered, 'we're hiding within the mountain ranges in Milites now.'

'I see,' Naghi said, 'the last contact we got from anybody out there was a report saying that something weird appeared on the top of the Agito Tower…'

'Something weird?' King asked curiously. The Agito Tower was a forbidden place located in the Judecca region. It was said that the most dangerous monsters in Orience roamed the Tower and hundreds of years' worth of myths and legends prevented anyone from going near it.

'Yeah, I'm not quite sure myself,' Naghi said hesitantly, 'whoever it was said that dark clouds swirled around the topmost floors and that there were illusions of a _temple_ flashing on those clouds. Can you believe it? A temple! Heck I don't even remember who it was that gave me the information. It just happened to be recorded on the command centre log.'

A temple. King unwittingly shivered in trepidation as he heard those words. If Celestia was right, then…

'I'll contact you back,' King said to Naghi and before Naghi could protest, he had cut off the connection. He quickly relayed Naghi's words to the rest of his comrades and they too turned pale.

'The Palace of All Magic…' Celestia said softly, 'Could it really be true?'

'Does it mean that the Judge is there?' Queen whispered.

'Most likely,' Celestia replied.

'What will happen if we take down the Judge?' Trey asked, 'Can Finis be stopped?'

'Nothing has been written about that,' Celestia said, 'I guess the thought of it is simply… ridiculous.'

'But waiting to die here is worse than trying, isn't it?' Rem said, 'If we have to die anyway, then I would want to at least die trying!'

'Rem…' Machina said, carefully eyeing his childhood friend for a moment. But he knew that gaze very well. It was a gaze filled with determination and he instantly knew that Rem had made up her mind. 'I'll come with you,' he finally said.

'I'll come too,' Ace said. 'I'm sorry for this mess… I assumed that if at least the Suzaku Crystal survives, then Finis could be prevented. It seems that I was wrong… That's why I'll try my best to do something, anything to remedy this.'

'None of this was your fault, Ace,' Rem said gently, 'You have kind intentions and no one could have foreseen this situation.'

'Then we're all coming too,' Sice said. 'I told you didn't I?' she smirked as she turned to Ace, 'that we'd keep our oath no matter what you'd decided to do.' All the rest of Class 0 nodded fervently at her words, their eyes burning with determination.

'Then we'd best get prepared,' Celestia said, 'I'm not going anywhere else either. But once we head there, there would be no turning back.'

They nodded in agreement as they quickly checked back their equipment and supplies before mounting their respective dragons. No one knew what awaited them in the Palace of All Magic. The unknown frightened them immensely. But considering the other option of a slow death, diving headfirst seemed to be the much better option. Even if it would result in their deaths, at least they would know that they have walked into the arena with their heads held high.


	20. The Palace of All Magic

**Chap 20**

As the dragons landed smoothly on the entrance of the Palace of All Magic, an astounding sight greeted them. The Palace of All Magic was a structured and boxy building with queer runes engraved into its walls. The palace's layout was semicircular, encircling a large pond with flaming torches lighting its perimeter. And on top of the building, a strange rune glowed red with bizarre cogwheel-shaped lights surrounding it.

By the side of the large pond, knelt a familiar figure. The Suzaku l'Cie Zhuyu, clutching his bleeding abdomen knelt in silence, eyed the Palace building with intense hatred in his eyes.

'Lord Zhuyu!' Machina exclaimed as he ran towards the l'Cie. 'Are you all right?'

Zhuyu did not take his eyes off the Palace of All Magic, but acknowledged the group, saying, 'It's no use… I tried fighting through the Lulusath horde to get to the core of this building… but I failed. I have defied the Suzaku Crystal's wish and I will meet my end here. This is my retribution…'

'Wait!' Machina said frantically, 'what wish? What end? You can't just die here! You're a l'Cie!'

'Heh,' Zhuyu scoffed, 'being a l'Cie is not as wondrous as you might think. The Crystal did not want me to come here, but something deep inside me tells me otherwise… that here in this place lies humanity's hope. But I might be wrong… After all, it has been decades since I last felt human emotions. And for that I pay the price… Without the Crystal's blessings, a l'Cie is… nothing.' With that, he heaved his last breath and toppled onto the ground.

'Lord Zhuyu!' Machina shouted at him, but Zhuyu laid still. His last act, which defied the wish of the Crystal, had prevented him from crystallising as l'Cies usually do. He had become nothing but a corpse, as Andoria had before him.

'Machina…' Rem gently nudged her friend. Machina nodded. He knew this was not the time for mourning. The Lulusath Warriors could appear any second now.

'I'll try attacking from the sky,' Celestia said, mounting a dragon. 'All of you wait here. There's no telling what might happen.'

They watched as the dragon carrying Celestia flew over the pond towards the top of the building where the strange rune glowed, their hearts beating anxiously. As Celestia neared the rune, however, a queer black thunderbolt shot at her. She narrowly dodged it but the thunderbolt struck the dragon's wing instead, causing the dragon to lose its balance.

'Damn,' Celestia cursed under her breath. But her ordeals did not end with a single thunderbolt. In fact, the closer she flew to the rune, the more thunderbolts appeared to strike her down. With her dragon wounded, she could no longer avoid the thunderbolts effectively.

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the entire courtyard.

_You, who are not worthy, shall not enter the Palace of All Magic._

Taken aback by the voice, the whole group froze on their spots. It was then that the biggest thunderbolt struck Celestia and her dragon and they fell into the pond with a deafening splash.

'Celestia!'

For a long while, they stood rooted in their spots as their last memories of Celestia vanished. The incident that had transpired before them, however, etched the unshakeable feelings of fear and trepidation onto their souls, reminding them of the gravity of their situation.

'It seems like we can't take a shortcut by flying…' Seven finally said, her voice shaking.

'We don't know which way to go from here…' Queen said, looking at the two different entrances to the Palace of All Magic from either sides of the pond.

'Let's split up,' Ace suggested, to which his comrades all nodded in agreement. 'Our target is the core which Zhuyu mentioned. Which should be where that red rune thing is. And it should be where the Judge is too.'

They quickly split themselves into two groups. Ace, Deuce, Nine, Queen, Sice, Machina and Rem would go through the left entrance, while Trey, Cinque, Seven, Eight, Cater, Jack and King would go through the right entrance.

As they walked past he harrowing arches towards their respective entrances, the ominous feeling surrounding the place grew with every step they took. It would take a miracle for them to survive this.

Steeling their hearts for the unknown that is yet to come, they pushed through the door, stepping into the Palace of All Magic…

**Group A**

'I don't have a good feeling about this...' Deuce said warily as they stepped through their third door ever since entering the Palace of All Magic. 'Aren't there supposed to be Lulusath Warriors?'

'Rather than worrying about the Lulusaths,' Ace said, 'I think we should be more concerned that we are going round in circles.'

'Huh?' Deuce turned to him with a puzzled look, 'We're going round in circles?'

'Yeah,' Ace replied, kneeling beside a burn mark on the ground, 'I created this mark earlier, in case we need to trek back to meet the other group or if they need to find us. But this mark has been in all the rooms we walked past.'

'So this hallway is a trap on its own, huh?' Sice remarked as she scanned through the entire interior of the large hallway. It was a slightly curved hallway with high ceilings and tall squarish pillars on either side. And along the walls, hung strange birdcage-like ornaments.

'Should we do something about those birdcage things?' Rem suggested.

Ace nodded at her suggestion and fired a fireball at the queer object. And the moment his fireball hit it, purple flames glowed within the cage. Noting the change that had taken place, his comrades followed suit and did the same for all the remaining cage-like ornaments.

Once the last ornament has been lit up, a pair of beastly, glowing yellow eyes appeared in the far end of the hallway. Without warning, the eyes dashed towards their direction and its movement allowed them to see a faint silhouette of the eyes' body.

It was a behemoth. Not any behemoth, but an invisible one.

They swiftly dodged the creature's charge, drawing their weapons as they did so. Fighting a behemoth is difficult enough. Fighting an invisible one proved even harder. The creature's faint outlines required careful scrutinizing to distinguish and at times, its long tail escaped notice, injuring Nine and Queen.

'Here!' Rem shouted as she fired a flaming fireball at the behemoth, temporarily distracting it before it can continue its attack on the injured Queen.

'Are you all right?' Deuce asked as she hurried over to where Queen was sitting.

'You're going to regret this…' Queen said, with her face obscured by her long black hair and her glasses strewn by her side.

'Umm… Queen?' Deuce asked, her tone sounding even more worried.

But the Queen that she saw was not the responsible, prim and proper Queen that everybody was accustomed to. As Queen got up and picked up her long sword, Deuce shrieked in realisation. 'Queen! Not now!'

It was too late. Queen had charged maniacally at the behemoth. Her moves were quicker than before as she struck the confused behemoth time and again with her sword, which she held backhandedly. Queen laughed deliriously every time her sword struck the creature.

'Did she just do that… now?' Nine asked, gaping.

'What's wrong with her?' Machina asked, bewildered by Queen's sudden change in personality.

'Umm… She's gonna be fine,' Deuce said hesitantly, 'But she does that sometimes… when things sort of… get out of her control.'

After a long tough battle, they finally managed to take down the creature with the help of Ace's cannon laser, which trapped the behemoth.

Once the creature has been knocked down, Deuce quickly played a melody on her flute, which calmed Queen down. She sat there, confused, with no memory of what just transpired.

'Did I just go ballistic again?' she asked her comrades. They nodded hesitantly.

'That's all right,' Ace said reassuringly as he handed her glasses to her, 'you took down the behemoth and now we should be able to proceed.' Queen smiled gratefully, albeit with a hint of guilt in her gaze.

With their first trial completed, they were finally able to proceed to the next room.

**Group B**

'What the hell are these things!?' Cater huffed as she shot at the bizarre cubes, which were firing at them.

In a room very much similar to Ace and the others, the second group faced a group of odd cubes, which would shoot lasers at them and a lone Lulusath Warrior.

'I don't know!' Trey replied as he continued shooting at the Lulusath Warrior, 'Just continue shooting!'

'That's the first time I heard that from you, Trey,' Jack said jokingly.

'Is this a good time to be discussing that?' Eight asked as he planted the final punch on one of the cubes, causing it to burst in a small explosion before it laid still.

'Let's tackle all these cubes first before taking on the big guy,' Seven suggested, 'Trey, could you continue distracting the Lulusath Warrior for the moment?'

'Got it!' Trey replied as his comrades proceeded to focus their attacks on the cubes.

After a fierce fight, all the cubes finally stood still, leaving behind the Lulusath Warrior for them to tackle.

Eight rushed forward and landed a few quick kicks and punches on the Lulusath Warrior before the creature swung its sword at him. Cinque quickly followed up with an earthquake with her mace, which broke the Lulusath Warrior's focus, thereby missing Eight. Seven too joined in and swung her whip sword at its arm and sent electric shocks through it.

With Trey having weakened the creature substantially before they joined in, they were soon able to take down the Lulusath Warrior.

'There,' Cater said cheerfully, 'we should be able to proceed now.'

All of them turned towards the door, except Cinque. She stood beside the body of the Lulusath Warrior with her mace still firmly clutched in her hands.

'Cinque?' Trey turned around when he realised that she was not following. Cinque remained silent as she continued eyeing the seemingly lifeless creature.

'Cinque, c'mon let's go!' Cater urged her. But at that very instant, the Lulusath Warrior sprung back to life. It got back up from its slumped position, back to its prime condition. It was as if they had never taken it down.

'What!?' they exclaimed in surprise.

'Do these things even… die?' Trey asked, his voice shaking as he summoned back his bow and arrows.

Once again, they took the creature down. This time, however, Cinque began drawing its Phantoma. Rem had previously taught them about Phantomas. They were said to be the essence of magic, but in reality, they were really souls. Only the high-ranking officials of Rubrum knew of the true nature of the Phantomas and a soldier who overheard the officials talking had relayed this information to Rem.

'Ughh!' Cinque whimpered as she received the Phantoma.

'Cinque! Are you all right?' Trey asked worriedly. Phantomas were not supposed to hurt the drawer.

'This Phantoma seemed to be different from the ones we tried drawing from regular monsters,' Cinque said. 'I feel… odd.'

Trey turned his attention on the Lulusath Warrior, which lay perfectly still this time. It was not reviving. He then turned back to Cinque and asked in awe, 'how did you know that drawing its Phantoma was the way to prevent it from reviving?'

'I dunno~' Cinque said, apparently back to her cheerful self, 'just had that feeling.' Trey smiled at her. Cinque's sixth sense could really work miracles sometimes. Not even him, who reads extensively, could have thought of drawing Phantoma from the Lulusath Warrior to prevent it from reviving.

'I guess we're really clear this time, huh?' Eight said. 'C'mon let's go!'


	21. The Shadows of the Four Nations

**Chap 21**

After a seemingly endless number of similar trials, the two groups finally regrouped in a round room at the centre of the Palace of All Magic.

'Ace!' Cater said joyfully when she caught sight of the card-wielder. 'This is real right? It's not part of the trial right? I've never been so happy to see someone!'

'Cater!' Ace called back as the rest of his group followed behind.

'Geez, all of you look horrible,' Cater said when she saw Nine, Sice, Machina, Rem, Deuce and Queen.

'Speak for yourself!' Nine snapped at her. They were right of course. Everyone was badly wounded - grazed cheeks, bloodstained shirts, and bruised knees - but nevertheless, they still stood tall.

'When's this going to end?' Sice asked.

'It shouldn't be far now,' Trey replied, 'We should be in the centre of the Palace now and the only way to go now is up.'

'I don't think we can simply "go up" though,' Eight said. He had caught sight of mysterious rune symbols engraved on panels on the side of the room. There were four in total and each of the symbols look oddly familiar…

'Aren't they the symbols representing the four nations!?' Rem gasped.

'Looks like it,' Eight replied as his comrades gathered around a tortoise-like symbol. 'Here goes nothing,' he said as he placed his hand on the Genbu symbol and a bright flash of light engulfed them.

…

It was a barren landscape, very much similar to the Lorican Alliance, which they have visited before. However, both the earth and skies were significantly darker, giving off a brooding atmosphere.

'We aren't transported to Lorica, are we?' Queen asked, looking around frantically.

'No… I'm pretty certain that we're still inside the Palace,' Machina said.

And suddenly, out of the darkness, appeared large, hulking figures reminiscent of the Loricans. But upon closer look, they noticed that these figures were dark and faceless, as though they were mere shadows of the real Loricans.

'So we gotta take them down, got it!' Jack said, drawing his katana, 'after all the previous trials, there seems to be a rhythm to it, doesn't it?'

'I guess…?' Seven said uncertainly as more and more figures appeared out of the darkness.

'ARRRGGGHHHH! I'm getting sick of these!' Nine shouted as he charged forward at the army of shadows. Too exhausted to even reprimand him for being reckless, the others followed suit…

…

'Now what do we have here?' Trey said, inspecting the abandoned, darker version of Ingram beyond the Byakko symbol.

This was the last symbol to clear. They had inspected the Souryuu symbol after defeating at least two hundred shadow Loricans. And beyond the Souryuu symbol, they had found a dilapidated Mahamayuri where zombie-like creatures dwelled. Hunched, monstrous and hungry, those creatures appeared in a much greater number than the shadow Loricans. It took them a long while before they were able to defeat those agonising monsters.

And beyond the Suzaku symbol was a burning mirage of Arkham. Flames engulfed the buildings as the town lay in ruins. Screams of the non-existent townspeople filled the air as three giant Golems launched their attacks on Class 0.

Again they emerged victorious, albeit after sustaining significant damage. And the only symbol left was the Byakko symbol where they found themselves in now.

'You finally came…' a familiar voice greeted them. And at the far end of the road, something lit up.

'No… it can't be…' Deuce gasped.

The thing that lit up was none other than Gabriel. Its lights were much more eerie than they remembered and it emanated the same foreboding atmosphere as do all of the monsters they faced so far.

'You'll pay for what you did to me!' 'Qator' screeched, 'Pay for your betrayal of the Milites Empire!'

Ace was quick to draw his cards and fired them at Gabriel. 'Qator' laughed eerily in response to the attack and began his onslaught at them. Gabriel was quick as ever, firing missiles and bullets at breakneck pace. Rem, Deuce and Ace quickly cast Wall magic to protect their classmates, but they knew that the wall would not keep 'Qator' out for long.

'We need to act fast,' Ace said, 'Trey, when the wall comes down, shoot out the wings. When he loses balance, then Rem and Deuce will strike him with thunder magic. He should then come down and then Machina, it will be your turn.'

'Got it!'

The plan worked beautifully. And before long Gabriel was down. But right before Machina plunged his finishing move, 'Qator's' voice sounded again, 'you'll regret this… You may survive the trials but you will meet a more grisly end at the hands of the Judge…'

As Machina's rapier plunged deep into Gabriel's main frame, the lights blew out and Gabriel laid still, never to move again…


	22. Judgement

**Chap 22**

'The Core…' Rem gasped as they finally reached the top of the stairs. Their bodies were severely exhausted and wounded. As they dragged their weary feet up the seemingly endless flight of stairs, a nagging question continued to plague their minds: How are they going to face the Judge in this state?

Nevertheless, they persevered on. There was no turning back. Even if they had to meet their ends, they would do so while facing the Judge.

The Core was a queer place - a large, blood red pond with the strange glowing rune in its centre. And by the side of the pond, stood the Judge…

'Father!?' Ace exclaimed at the sight of the figure.

The Emperor of the Milites Empire stood by the pond. He was a tall man, with a grey hair and beard, which made him look much older than he really was. He had a stern face and sharp eyes, which at the moment looked soulless.

'You made it this far,' he said, his voice deep and haunting, 'Now what? You can't expect to bring me down in that state.'

'Father!' Ace shouted again, 'Stop this madness!'

'I am no longer your father,' the Emperor replied coldly, 'I am… Gala.'

'What!?'

'Gala… the so-called God!?'

'I am a fal'Cie,' Gala explained, 'this world is my experiment, along with other fal'Cies. All in the hopes of opening Etro's Gate.'

'What's Etro's Gate!?' Nine spat at him, 'Don't gimme that kinda crap!'

'Mere mortals wouldn't understand,' Gala snickered, 'nor would you need to. You're all going to die as sacrifices anyway.'

'What did you do to my father!?' Ace demanded.

'Your father is my vessel,' he explained, 'He seeks out us fal'Cies upon learning about us. He grew bored of human life and that entire ruling the country stuff. He wanted to transcend humanity. And I granted him his wish. He is now a part of me.'

Ace clenched his fists in anger. 'You're not going to use us!' he shouted as he summoned his cards. His comrades too summoned their weapons behind him.

'I see,' Gala said, smirking, 'you want to go out with a bang. Very well… I shall grant you your wish.' Without warning, the Emperor leapt into the blood red pond. And out of the crimson waters, a gargantuan armoured creature appeared. It was white and gold in colour and at least three times the size of Bahamut. It had arms on either side of its body and at the very top, on a throne-like structure, sat the Emperor whose body seemed conjoined to the creature via black vein-like objects.

'Now… DIE!' Gala screeched as one of the creature's giant arms swept at Ace and the others. They barely dodged the first arm when a second swept over at them, knocking Trey, Cinque, Jack, Machina and Queen.

'Ughhh…' they groaned as they struggled to get back on their feet.

Ace racked his brain for a strategy as he avoided subsequent attacks by Gala. There has got to be a way of taking this creature down…

_Crack!_

He quickly turned to see Cinque who broke one of the queer red orbs adorning the creature's body. She had smashed the orb on the creature's left arm and out of the orb, a strange wisp resembling Phantomas exuded out.

'The harvesting of souls… the Judge oversees them… ensuring that Gala's work was complete…' Ace whispered to himself. Deep within his consciousness, he knew someone had told him those words, even though he was unable to recall exactly who. _What if… this creature was the vessel that holds all the souls together? _He thought.

'The orbs!' he shouted at his comrades, 'Smash the orbs!'

With every orb they smashed, they drew the Phantomas away from the creature. And with every Phantoma they drew, the strength of an additional soul renewed their power by a little bit.

'The strength of the people of Orience…' Rem whispered as she drew Phantomas from an orb she had just broken.

'Nooooooo!' Gala screamed as Jack slashed his katana at the creature's arm. After losing much of its Phantomas, the creature's defences began to weaken and Jack was hence able to slice through its arms cleanly. Getting desperate, Gala began firing black thunderbolts at the group.

With their renewed strength, they were able to dodge the thunderbolts with greater ease.

'Who's dying now?' Nine sneered as he broke the third last orb from the creature's shoulder.

'So the power of the Gods depended on the power of the people's souls?' Sice chimed in, 'Don't make me laugh!' She swung her giant scythe at the creature's other arm, cleanly cutting it off, obliterating the second last orb in the process.

'You're dead!' Ace declared as he sent all 53 of his cards flying at the final, largest orb, which was, located right below the throne. The glowing cards rained down on the creature, each card hitting on the white armour as though they were meteors. The final orb broke, and after Ace had drawn its Phatomas, the creature began to sink into the blood red pond as the remaining cards rained down on it.

'Noooooooo!' Gala screamed again before he disappeared beneath the bubbling pond. His screams echoed through the crimson sky for seconds after, until it was no more…


	23. Arecia's Final Resolution

**Chap 23**

They collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, knowing only that for the time being, Finis has been stopped.

Out of a sudden, Arecia appeared before them, calmly smoking her cigarette, as they have always known her to. The moment she appeared before them, each and every one of them had a clear inkling of who their 'mother' figure truly was…

'What is it that you truly want?' she asked, walking towards them. 'A world without Gods?'

'I couldn't care less about the Gods,' Ace admitted, 'they're just part of a big lie. You included. All we want is to continue living. That was what we fought for. That is our nature, what you created us to be.'

Arecia raised an eyebrow at Ace's words. 'A higher order of Gods created you… I did not. Although the world _was_ my creation. I simply picked and moulded the twelve of you who were to be my hope in becoming the Agito.'

'What exactly is the Agito anyway?' Cater asked.

'The one who would open Etro's gate,' Arecia replied, 'The Goddess Etro was also the one to provide you with "hearts", the desire to live that you spoke of earlier. Ironic isn't it? That at the very end, her creations would be the one to prevent me or Gala from reaching her…'

'Are you planning to continue this experiment of yours!?' Machina demanded.

Arecia remained silent for a moment, before looking up at the sky. 'No,' she replied, 'Etro's answer was clear… This world is yours now…'

And at that very moment, the crimson sky began turning back to blue. White clouds replaced the dark ones. Like a sunrise after a long and endless night, the world was born anew. By the time they turned back to face Arecia, she was already gone…


	24. Epilogue - Deuce's Narrative

**Chap 24 – Deuce's narrative**

_It has been five years since we faced Gala. The world is at peace now. Orience is no longer divided into four nations. _

_Mother her kept her word. She was gone, along with the remaining Suzaku Crystal. Now, people relied only on their own strengths to rebuild the world that the Lulusaths and the war had ravaged. _

_People no longer forget the dead either. Looking back, I wondered if this was the world Cid had in mind before his obsession overtook him?_

_Oh, and what became of us?_

_Machina became the leader of Orience. He rallied all the survivors together. All that energy that we spent for war we now focus on rebuilding. He is a natural leader. And with Rem by his side, they are unstoppable._

_Ace relinquished his throne. Knowing him, I think he's really happy that he can leave all those political issues behind. He started a chocobo ranch in the Innsmouth Region, but he still continues to help Machina from time to time. _

_Trey's a researcher now. His recent breakthrough involves finding a new type of crop, which can be grown in the harsher Militesi regions. This could be long overdue solution to the hunger problems we faced back then._

_Cater has been travelling along with Eight to various places. They are the 'travelling merchants' as we like to call them. They sell a wide range of items, from normal food like apples to strange artefacts, which they found from all over the world. Sometimes, I really wonder where they got their items from and if those items would be better suited in a museum. _

_As for Cinque, she has taken a great liking to the Lorican landscape. She made friends with the surviving Loricans who share her fondness of big bulky weapons and helped in their quest to rebuild Lorica. Trey gets really worried sometimes, but Cinque's tougher than she looks. _

_Sice, on the other hand, is trying her hand as a cook. We knew she had a secret fondness for food though her tough demeanour would not allow her to explicitly admit it. _

_Then there is also Seven who has built an orphanage, not far from where Ace built his ranch. The kind and understanding Seven had always taken care of us when we were younger. And now she's extending that same kindness to the children who were orphaned by the war and the Lulusath Warriors._

_As for Nine, he wasn't quite sure what to do right after the Gala incident. So he went around doing odd jobs, helping here and there, mostly around Ace. Then now that the situation has somewhat stabilised, he was thinking of setting up a farm. I just hope he doesn't get mad at the carrots for growing too slowly…_

_Oh, and Jack's been travelling around the world too. He's a travelling comedian. The children love him and everyone adores him. He attracts such a huge crowd every time he's in town. _

_Queen, on the other hand, is a teacher. She makes a really good teacher though for her students' sake I hope her ballistic side never shows up. She too helps Machina and Ace out a lot. She has a knack for planning after all, so she's somewhat of a consultant to Machina as well. _

_King is a policeman, helping the people of Orience keep their peace. Well not that anything big ever happens, but small petty crimes are largely unavoidable, especially in times of recovery. Machina has named him leader of the police force, but well, he won't admit it. He kept saying it's the job that matters and not the title._

_As for me? I am preparing for the biggest moment of my life. _

_I once swore an oath to Ace that I'll be beside him no matter what happens. And tomorrow, I'll swear a different oath to him. Well the essence may be similar – undying loyalty, in wealth and in woe, in sickness and in health, til death do us part – but this time, I shall be the only one taking it. _

_The world we live in now may not be perfect, but at least it is a world of freedom. Humans are finally free to pursue their own dreams. And the fact that we can all stay together to watch this come true made me feel thankful over and over again. _

_And this time, these memories shall never fade… _


End file.
